The problem of plenty

Updated on: Tuesday, August 18, 2009

The reported decision of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) not to allow any teachers’ training colleges for the 2010-11 sessions in 12 States including Kerala is being viewed here with relief in government circles.

Alarmed over the exponential growth of B.Ed. colleges in Kerala, the State government had sent its Principal Secretary for Higher Education Kuruvila John to the NCTE last year to do some tough talking to that apex body on the process of sanctioning such colleges. The Principal Secretary reportedly told the NCTE officials that the State was facing a crisis of credibility regarding B.Ed. colleges, and the supply has far outstripped demand particularly in the southern districts of the State.

The reported decision of the NCTE has brought to the fore lingering questions about the quality of teacher training offered in the 300-plus institutions that offer B.Ed. courses in Kerala. The list of institutions in Kerala that have been granted recognition by the council can be accessed at the web address http://www.srcncte.in/granted.htm.

Of these only four colleges are run by the government. There are 17 aided B.Ed. colleges. The rest—and here lays the bulk of the seats—are run by universities and by private managements.

According to information made available by the LBS centre, Thiruvananthapuram, the varsities have about 12,000 seats between them and the self-financing managements, about 14,600.

All together there are about 30,000 B.Ed. seats in Kerala. LBS officials told The Hindu-EducationpPlus that there were only 14,000 applicants last year. Of the 12,000 seats that the LBS gets to allot, they were able to find takers for only about 8,000.

The distribution of these colleges across Kerala is also skewed in favour of the southern districts. That more than half the seats in B.Ed. colleges in Thiruvananthapuram district went unoccupied last year is a telling commentary on the state of affairs on the teacher training. On the other hand, say LBS officials, B.Ed. colleges in Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Malappuram do not have enough seats to accommodate all applicants.

The NCTE’s reported decision appears to be on account of burgeoning complaints about “dubious institutions” offering teacher training across the country. Apart from Kerala, the council has decided not to grant new institutions in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan and in the union territory of Puducherry.

The problem of plenty

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