PTTI crisis: Minister concerned over delay by NCTE

School Education Minister Partha De has expressed his concern over the silence of the National Council for Teachers Education on the issue of Primary Teachers Training Institutes in the state.

School Education Minister Partha De has expressed his concern over the silence of the National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE) on the issue of Primary Teachers Training Institutes (PTTIs) in the state.

“We are still awaiting the reply of the NCTE on the issue and are in constant touch with the council authorities,” said De addressing a convention of the All Bengal Primary Teachers Association in the city on Monday.

“The main issue is to get the NCTE’s approval that the students who will be enrolled for bridge course can be appointed as teachers in the primary schools of the state,” added the minister.

De said that he has held discussions with the authorities of the Netaji Subhas Open University and Indira Gandhi National Open University on the bridge course.

The minister asked the students caught in the crisis to be patient.

“We have appointed retired teachers to deal with the crisis of primary teachers in schools but it is not a permanent solution,” he said.

CPM state secretariat member Benoy Konar, meanwhile, said the Centre is unnecessarily delaying its decision on the matter.