The lower house of the Parliament today passed a bill to amend the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) Act seeking to provide post-facto approval to those approved institutions which are funded by the Centre or states, but do not have recognition under the 1993 law. Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar said the legislation has been brought for the benefit of the students who have appeared for B.Ed, M.Ed and various other exams, but their institutes are not recognised.
After Lok Sabha cleared the amendment bill, HRD Minister expressed his happiness by saying, "I am very happy that the house unanimously supported for the passage of The National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill, 2017".
Mr Javedekar said several state and central universities were running Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) and related courses, but do not have recognition and added that the amendment was "small, but it rectifies a major error".
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The minister also said there were also plans to start an integrated four-year B.A.-B.Ed, B.Sc.-B.Ed and B.Com-B.Ed courses so that those interested in teaching can choose this, rather than opting for the teaching profession as a last option.
To ensure that institutes offering B.Ed courses maintain quality, Mr Javadekar said the ministry has asked them to submit affidavits recording the facilities they offer. Of the 18,600 institutes, 8,700 submitted affidavits regarding this so far, he said.
He told the Lok Sabha that show-cause notices were issued to 10,000 institutes, of which 3,700 submitted the affidavits and the overall figure of those submitting the affidavits was around 12,000.
According to the minister, there will also be an induction programme for new recruits to improve the quality of teachers.
Opposition party Congress has welcomed the amendment while participating in the debate on the bill.
Congress member Deepender Hooda said the legislation was a welcome step and will be beneficial for the education sector.
Press Trust of India reported that Mr Hooda also raised the issue of Reliance Jio University which has been given the tag of Institute of Eminence.
"The university which is yet to be established has been given such prestigious status. Nothing is yet known about it,"Mr. Hooda said.
The HRD Minister said that the government is on the verge of formulating the National Education Policy, "which is almost ready and is giving a final shape to it", reported IANS.