November 29, 2011

NCTE is a lame duck; B.Ed mafia is unassailable

We have a national council called National Council for Teacher Education. Teacher education institutions are supposed to get its approval for running their institutions. And NCTE has created many dos and don'ts and documents for setting standards of teacher education institutions. At one point of time it appeared that it will be effective. Later on the B.Ed college management mafia seems to have usurped them and had their upper hand. Now they are free to appoint teacher educators (B.Ed faculty) without NET (National Eligibility Test) and pay meager remuneration to the teachers and bypass almost all the NCTE norms.

And the funniest thing is that a B.Ed college actually do not need NCTE approvals. It can even function without that. Because NCTE is not giving degree certificates to B.Ed colleges, Universities do that. And the Universities do not have any problem in granting B.Ed certificates to the students from institutions not approved by NCTE. So students too have no problem studying in unapproved institutions. There is no Law here. Universities are also making money out of self financing B.Ed colleges directly run by them. And the profits from these institutions come from the underpayment of faculty members- the persons who are supposed to be crucial players in imparting teacher education.

Thus, since the interests of private B.Ed mafia and the Universities coincide. Government is in their hands, because most of the private institutions are run by so called minority institutions. Minorities are politically powerful than the majorities in places like Kerala. So the government is also closing its eyes to the violations of NCTE norms. And the NCTE has no tooth and nails to enforce its norms. Besides, the B.Ed mafia is said to be bribing NCTE teams or spread the rumour that this is happening. Altogether, it is the teacher educators, the B.Ed faculty who are suffering. And the State as a whole. B.Ed colleges function like teaching shops, with a bunch of demotivated educators who can't even win their bread and butter from this occupation!

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