Delay in recognition, irked students stage flash protest

Hundreds of students of Regional Institute of Education (RIE) off Bogadi road in the city, staged a flash protest on the campus on Wednesday, demanding the authorities concerned to grant recognition for MSc in Education course from the competent authorities.

In the day long protest, students boycotted the classes and staged a sit-in near the administrative block, till the principal later joined by Mysuru and Kodagu MP Prathap Simha promised to sort out the issue amicably, in the evening.

The students dispersed later, hoping to get the required recognition from National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE), University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi.
RIE, a Central government institute has a strength of 650 students offering courses like BSc in Education and BA in Education (four year courses each) and MSc in Education, a six year course.

The MSc course was introduced in the year 2008-09, with an intake of 45 students. At the time of launching the course, the institute had simultaneously launched the process to get the required recognition from the NCTE and UGC for the PG course.

But the delay in the same has triggered apprehension among the final semester students, as the final exams are scheduled in April.

The first batch of students who passed out last April are to date finding it difficulty to get jobs owing to the lack of recognition to the course. When the repeated requests and reminders to the authorities through the principal’s office by this batch went in vain, they eventually decided to protest.

RIE Principal D G Rao told Deccan Herald that the institute had been making continuous efforts to get the recognition ever since the course was introduced. MP Prathap Simha has agreed to join me in apprising the Human Resource Development ministry.

MP Simha who addressed the students in the evening, promised to hold discussion with Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani in this regard, following which, the students dispersed.