TURA: Thousands of young aspiring teachers from the state, who are currently undergoing graduation courses or have completed their degree, will no longer be eligible for the teachers’ course of Bachelor in Education (B.Ed) following the decision of the National College for Teacher Education (NCTE) to move into the four-year integrated course system, beginning this year.
The only two B.Ed colleges catering to Garo Hills — Don Bosco B.Ed college and the state government run College of Teacher Education at Rongkhon, Tura — have closed down their two year-course for the new academic session after the NCTE, the statutory body of the central government looking into teachers’ education in the country, directed all such colleges to adhere to the new norms, which call for a four-year BA-B.Ed and B.Sc-B.Ed integrated course which has to be taken up in a composite college.
Hundreds of graduating students from across the region will no longer be eligible for the two-year B.Ed course and a career in the teaching profession due to the new education policy on teaching.
“We have also closed down our B.Ed college since our institution also has to move into the integrated four-year course. All those students who are already in degree-level cannot take up B.Ed anymore. We had made several requests in vain urging for a gradual move into the integrated system so that those already in the degree-level can avail the course,” revealed Fr. Bivan Mukhim, principal of Don Bosco College in Tura.
Meghalaya has only four B.Ed colleges, including St. Mary’s and Post Graduate Teachers Education college in Shillong, and the new direction from Bhubaneswar, the NCTE headquarters for eastern India and North East, calling for the start of the new integrated course from the new academic session has impacted over 1,700 such colleges under its domain. Many like the B.Ed college in Rongkhon or even the more infrastructure-friendly Don Bosco B.Ed college have hit a road block.
While the government-run B.Ed college in Rongkhon lacks infrastructure, adequate funding or even manpower, for the Don Bosco College, the COVID-19 pandemic has stalled its progress.
“We were supposed to start the new course in June but the lockdown has brought everything to a standstill. The NCTE portal has been closed for past few months hampering the submission of our papers. Although we have made adequate infrastructure arrangements like classrooms and other requirements for the integrated course, yet, with all probability the next course will begin only next year,” mentioned Mukhim.
While the Don Bosco B.Ed college has a silver lining, things do not look the same for the government-run College of Teacher Education, Rongkhon.
With no infrastructure at the current site, the entire B.Ed college would require to shift from its present location to the Tura government college, 7 km into town, for the integration of the courses. That is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
As the delay lingers on the prospects of many a teacher, aspirations of the young college students will only dim further.