BU cautions students on errant BEd colleges

The Bangalore University has asked students not to apply to those BEd colleges for which it has decided to withdraw affiliation for the academic year 2013-14.

The university has decided to withdraw affiliation of 61 BEd colleges for non-compliance of prescribed guidelines. For the current academic year, 2012-13, barring nine defunct colleges, the varsity has decided to give permission to the colleges to conduct the exams, in the interest of the students. The university will now conduct BEd entrance exam on June 5 which was earlier scheduled to be held on May 23.

On Friday, a special Syndicate meeting of the university was held to discuss the issue of the teacher education colleges. The members accepted the report of the Sudhakar Committee, that recently inspected the university-affiliated colleges and gave its recommendations.

Based on the earlier BU B Ed Task Force recommendations, the colleges have been categorised into four groups: colleges with satisfactory performance, colleges with average performance with a potential to improve, colleges with gross irregularities and colleges that do not have National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) recognition. The university will also not interfere in the matter of six M Ed colleges whose recognition have been scrapped by the NCTE.

Speaking to media persons after the Syndicate meeting, Vice Chancellor Prof B Thimme Gowda said the university had to be lenient with the colleges this year in the larger interest of the students.

“For next year we are disaffiliating the colleges. But, still there is colleges for further improvement,” he said. If any of the college, that are set to lose affiliation for 2013-14, improve their infrastructure and meet the prescribed standards of the university, they will be given a chance. However, only the colleges that have NCTE approval will get a second chance, provided they improve and apply afresh for affiliation like any new college, he added.

Only 26 colleges that have been recognised for satisfactory and average performance will get their affiliations renewed for the next year. The university will also reintroduce co-ordination committees to monitor internal exams conducted by the colleges, as there is vast scope for irregularities in internals.

They will also consider introducing grading system for internal exams of the B Ed courses, Prof Gowda said.