Malfunctioning NCTE
APROPOS of the news item in The Hindu dated May 26, 2007 on abolition of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), it becomes relevant to look at its mal-functioning.
The NCTE undermines the authority of the Ministry of Human Resource Development or the University Grants Commission, not to mention the judiciary. Innovative programmes designed by universities to produce quality teachers were kept in cold storage by the NCTE and subjected to "reviews and re-examinations." The regional offices sit on such proposals for years together even after the headquarters decide to approve innovation. The headquarters delays approval of proposals despite the MHRD's notification to include such innovative programmes on the recommendation of a UGC-appointed committee, on which the NCTE Chairperson was a member.
During the last two years the NCTE has seen six Chairpersons. The overreach to control universities has made the NCTE include universities within its jurisdiction.
Chapter 22 of the Programme of Action 1992 states the proposed NCTE Bill has vested with the Council the power to advise the Centre, the State Government, the UGC, universities and other agencies in all matters of teacher education and its development especially in regard to priorities, policies, plans and programmes with a view to phasing out sub-standard and erring institutions
In para 22.1.7, it has been stated a UGC Panel on Education is presently working out the details of a scheme to strengthen the Departments of Education in the universities so that they can provide academic support to the network of training institutes set up since 1986, the IASES, CTEs, DIETs, etc., and 22.2. (f) clearly states that the recommendations of the UGC panel would be taken up for appropriate implementation.
The NCTE is insisting on universities obtaining approval from the NCTE for starting teacher education programmes. The words "Institution" and "University" have been separately defined in the NCTE Act. Dealing with recognition by the NCTE , sub-para 6 of para 14 in Chapter IV of the Act clearly states that every examining body shall, on receipt of the order under sub-section (4):- grant affiliation to the institution, where recognition has been granted, or cancel the affiliation, where recognition has been refused.
Para 12B in Chapter III of the Act clearly states the council can make recommendations to the Central and State Governments, universities, UGC and recognised institutions in preparation of suitable plans and programmes in teacher education and under para 17 in `Penal provision' in para (3), it has been stipulated that once the recognition of a recognised institution is withdrawn under sub-section (1) such institutions shall discontinue the course or training in teacher education, and the university concerned or the examining body shall cancel affiliation of the institution in accordance with the order passed under sub-section (1), with effect from the end of the academic session next following the date of communication of the said order.
A combined reading of Sections 12, 14, 15, 16 & 17 of the NCTE Act would only show that the word "Institute" does not include a university or a deemed university. In the absence of an overriding provision of the UGC Act, it cannot be reasonably construed that the provisions of the NCTE Act would also apply to universities and that the universities are required to obtain prior approval from the NCTE for starting any teacher education programme.
The major problems relate to the NCTE's open door policy of giving recognition to self-financed institutions throughout the academic session unmindful of the fact that a substantial number of prospective teachers take the examination and the degree without attending their course of study even for a single day; also being unmindful of the reality that qualified teachers are simply not available to take classes and mere B. Eds are teaching B.Eds; that by and large a single qualified teacher appears on the teaching staff of at least 4 to 10 colleges; and that the teacher colleges are run in makeshift places and even in non-existing buildings.
Regional committees represent business and political interests and mostly refuse to listen to the directives of the headquarters and an occasional honest report of inspectors gets habitually ignored to benefit the local mafia.
The above were conclusions in papers presented at a conference attended by the NCTE Chairperson. It is high time that either the NCTE was abolished or the MHRD clarified that universities do not fall within the clutches of the NCTE.
Prof. R. Sethuraman
Vice-Chancellor
SASTRA UNIVERSITY
sethuraman@sastra.edu
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