TURA: The leadership of the Garoland State Movement Committee has written to the state government demanding that the existing fifty seats be raised to a hundred for the upcoming academic session in the College of Teacher education at Rongkhon, Tura.
The GSMC justified the demand for an increase by mentioning that the college for training teachers is the only such institution from the government side in the Garo Hills to enhance teachers’ skills and since its establishment in 1993 there has not been any raise in the seats number.
“B.Ed is one of the main criteria for the teachers for placement in government schools and the number of aspiring teachers is growing with each passing year while the seats have remained the same. In such a scenario, many local tribal candidates get deprived of the opportunity to join the teaching profession because of missed opportunities,” mentioned GSMC chairman Nikman Marak.
In the five districts of Garo Hills there are only two colleges providing B.Ed training course for teachers. While one is the government’s College of Teacher Education at Rongkhon, the other is the Salesians run Don Bosco B.Ed College, also in Tura.
The GSMC has appealed to the government to raise the number of seats for the government college before the start of this year’s new academic session so as to provide an opportunity for many more teachers to avail of the training and experience.