4-year integrated programmes on teacher education

The Centre will roll out a 4-year integrated teacher education programme in science, commerce and humanities streams in 2019, Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Prakash Javadekar announced in Lok Sabha on Monday.

The new undergraduate programmes in teacher education will be rolled-out for the students clearing their class XII board examinations and willing to take up teaching as a career.

“From 2019, four-year integrated BA-B Ed, B Com-B Ed and BSc-B Ed programmes will be offered. Students passing out their class XII board examinations and are willing to take up teaching as a career can pursue this programme,” the HRD Minister said.

He was replying to a debate on the National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill, 2017 which seeks to grant “retrospective recognition” to teacher education courses of 20 public-funded universities and other higher educational institutions including Regional Institutes of Education (RIEs) in Mysuru (Karnataka) and Bhubaneswar (Odisha).

The bill was unanimously passed by the Lower House with a voice vote. The RIEs functions under the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)

During the debate, members highlighted the dwindling quality of school education in the country, urged the Union government to bring reforms in the teacher education so that quality teachers are produced to cater to the educational needs of the school students.

They also called upon the government to take steps to stop private teacher education institutes from indulging in profiteering.

“Improvement in the functioning of the NCTE is a continuous process. With the roll-out of 4-year integrated programmes on teacher education from next year, irregularities in the BEd colleges will be over,” Javadekar assured.

The HRD minister said that the existing B Ed courses will continue to be there in place after the roll-out of the integrated programmes on teacher education.

He, however, indicated that the existing B Ed courses may be phased out in due course of time.

“It takes four to five years in migration,” he said.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) member Saugata Roy, while participating in the debate, noted that there was a prevailing trend among the parents preferring to admit their wards in private schools, instead of the government schools.