Row over BEd course recognition

The Western Regional Committee Bhopal of the National Council for Teacher Education NCTE had decided early this year to withhold recognition to these courses for failure to conform to the prescribed criteria. quot;Ever since these stipulations were published in the government gazette, 1997, we have been insisting on them. We found that these courses do not meet these criteria, the committees Regional Director Dr Prem Ahuja told Express Newsline.

The NCTE was established as a statutory body on August 17, 1995, by an act of Parliament to achieveplanned and coordinated developement in teachers training countrywide, and to ensure that institutes imparting such education adhere to the norms and standards stipulated. The council began to evaluate courses offering the BEd degree only in 1997, when the guidelines for recognition were first published in the government gazette. Prior to this, the courses were not standardised and as such the question of recognition did not arise.

Of the 40 institutes conducting the unrecognised courses in Maharashtra, 34 offer the vacation course state-wide. The remaining six, all in Mumbai, conduct the part-time course and are affiliated to the University of Mumbai.

Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, the only other two states in the western region which offered such courses, abstained once recognition was denied. quot;The programme components of these courses in these institutes speak volumes for their unsatisfactory standards. One of the provisions insists on 72 days of compulsory class attendance for at least six hours perday, Dr Ahuja explains. These classes are to be conducted by eligible teacher-educators from the university departments/training colleges. During this period, candidates are also interviewed by experts to gauge whether they have mastered teaching skills during their internship. The maximum teacher-student ratio should not exceed 1:50, which is again often flouted, Dr Ahuja observes.

However, the channels of communication between the NCTE, state government and University of Mumbai have been less than clear, which could account for the institutes in the city persisting with the unrecognised courses.

Deputy Secretary in the Department of Higher and Technical Education, Government of Maharashtra, M A Sarpotdar, told Express Newsline that the government is still in dialogue with the NCTE, urging the apex body to allow the continuance of the courses. However, Dr Ahuja says: quot;It is a closed chapter for us.

But the matter appears more complicated than that. The university8217;s vice-chancellor, Dr SnehalataDeshmukh, says the university learnt of the NCTE8217;s decision only on June 18, whereas Dr Ahuja insists that the respective universities were intimated in February. The matter, he says, was followed up in April, June and July.

Dr Ahuja retorts: quot;In fact, following our letter in April, there were representations from the University of Poona, Nagpur University, Shivaji University Kolhapur, Amravati University, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University Aurangabad and North Maharashtra University Jalgaon to reconsider the NCTEs decision. But we turned them down. Of these, North Maharashtra University was the only one to discontinue with the vacation courses, he points out.

Dr Deshmukh replies: quot;By the time the University of Mumbai learnt of the NCTE8217;s decision, admissions to these courses had been completed. There are just two options now: either the fees can be refunded or the students could be asked to give an undertaking that they are willing to complete the course despite the fact that it isunrecognised.

She says the university forwarded these suggestions to the state government on Wednesday and are now awaiting a decision. The university also wrote to the NCTE on Wednesday, urging it to allow it to continue with the courses for the current academic year.

Following are the six institutes affiliated to the University of Mumbai which offer the part-time BEd course: Chembur Comprehensive College of Education Chembur; Pillai College of Education Chembur; Bombay Teachers Training College Colaba; Seva Sadan College of Education Ulhasnagar; Shahid D T Kalani College of Education Ulhasnagar and Hansraj Jivandas College of Education Khar