KOCHI: Two years after the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) revised the duration of BEd course to two years from one year, self-financing private BEd colleges are on the verge of closure for want of students. Of the 190 colleges, including government, private and university centres, 37 private colleges have already been closed down.In 2015, the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), the regulator body for teacher education in the country, had revised the course duration. Since then there has been a steep fall in the number of students enrolling themselves in the course and in 2017 the admission has fallen by one third.
Though the NCTE decision on course duration is pointed out to be a good decision that helps improve the standard of teaching as a profession, self-financing BEd colleges are finding it difficult to run the course.
According to the college managements, there is no dearth of teaching aspirants. “The students are reluctant to spend two years on a BEd course.
They can very well do a PG course during that period,” says V A Syed Mohammed, vice-present of the Self-Financing BEd College Management Association. However, he is of the opinion the revised course duration will improve the standard of only those who have real interest in the teaching profession. “Earlier, students used to join the course without a second thought as the duration was just one year. Now any candidate will think twice before joining the course’’ says Syed Mohammed.
Besides, there is a slight increase in the fees also. When it was a one-year course, the fees was Rs 50,000. It was increased by Rs 8,000 (29,000 per year) when the course duration was revised to two years. ‘’We are finding it difficult to run the course.
The fees collected is not sufficient even to provide salary to teachers. As per the norms, there should be eight teachers for a unit of students. (a group of 50 students is considered a unit). There are colleges which cannot find even one unit of students for 250-plus seats’’ says Syed Mohammed. In yet another blow to students, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has reduced the number of BEd seats from nearly 2,000 to 50, as directed by the NCTE.
When it was a one-year course, the fees was Rs 50,000. It was increased by Rs 8,000 (29,000 per year) when the course duration was revised to two years. ‘’We are finding it difficult to run the course. The fees collected is not sufficient even to provide salary to teachers. As per the norms, there should be eight teachers for a unit of students. (a group of 50 students is considered a unit). There are colleges which cannot find even one unit of students for 250-plus seats’’ says Syed Mohammed.
In yet another blow to students, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has reduced the number of BEd seats from nearly 2,000 to 50, as directed by the NCTE. ‘’This is not a decision taken by IGNOU, but NCTE. The BEd offered by IGNOU is the only recognised BEd course in the open education system, which is a convenient option for those working as teachers in the private sector. Earlier, a degree and two years of teaching education were the qualifications required for BEd.
Now NCTE has replaced teaching experience with TTC or DEd. This change in admission norms will be a blow to private sector teachers who are working as teachers, but who aspire to earn a professional qualification in teaching,’’ says Jalajakumari, assistant regional director, IGNOU.‘’Each centre of IGNOU had 100 seats for BEd and the course was offered in nearly 19 centres. Recently it was directed to reduce the seats to 50 across the state’’ says Jalajakumari.