State seeks two years to execute NCTE norms

BHUBANESWAR: The state government on Friday expressed its inability to implement the revised National Council for Teacher Education Regulation (NCTE Regulation 2014) by the stipulated deadline of the 2015-16 academic year.
It sought two more years to implement the changed norms under which teachers' training courses such as BEd and MEd courses have to be of two years duration.In Odisha, the courses are of one-year duration each.
In a letter to NCTE chairperson Santosh Panda, school and mass education secretary Arabinda Padhee wrote that the state was not in a position to implement the changed norms. "The new standards are found to be difficult to implement with effect from the next academic session," he wrote.
Seeking two years to implement the regulations, Padhee wrote, "Though the state is firmly committed to fulfilling NCTE norms and standards, it appears very difficult to implement the NCTE mandated teacher education programmes from the academic year 2015-16."
The education secretary highlighted that the increased duration for BEd and MEd courses would require additional faculty members in teacher education institutes (TEIs). The state needs to appoint 112 more teacher educators for its 14 teacher training institutes at the rate of eight extra each.
Under the revised NCTE norms for two year BEd courses of 100 seats, the government needs to have 16 faculty members compared to eight for one-year courses.
"The state runs short of candidates with the prescribed qualifications for being appointed as lecturers in the TEIs. This shortage is likely to continue for a couple of more years," he wrote, adding the additional manpower would mean the state government would have to spend more.
The NCTE has asked the state governments to strictly implement the revised norms from 2015-16. Educationists feel that if Odisha doesn't follow the NCTE norms, the candidates who will get enrolled in these courses may face problems. "The NCTE may refuse to recognize the one-year courses. In such a situation, the candidates who take admission may find that they have completed unrecognized courses with no job prospects," he said.