Rajasthan: 700 BEd colleges to shut down! Future of two lakh candidates at risk, here’s why

Rajasthan: The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has issued guidelines for B.Ed colleges under NEP. Under these, colleges will be operated on the lines of multidisciplinary institutions.

Rajasthan: Innovations being made for the quality of education under the National Education Policy (NEP) are not being implemented on the ground due to a lack of coordination between the Centre and the state government. A similar situation has arisen concerning B.Ed colleges in the state, where the Higher Education Department is not implementing the changes made under NEP. The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has issued guidelines for B.Ed colleges under NEP. According to these, colleges will be operated on the lines of multi-disciplinary institutions.

Meanwhile, the state government's refusal to grant No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to new academic colleges has deepened the crisis for 700 B.Ed colleges. Colleges will not be permitted to admit students to B.Ed courses by the NCTE if they do not operate academic courses by the year 2030. This puts the future of approximately two lakh candidates who take admission to the B.Ed course every year at stake.

Ban on College Recognition

In view of the new NEP guidelines, B.Ed college operators have sought NOCs for general academic colleges from the Higher Education Department. However, the department refused, citing the ban on opening new colleges. In fact, the College Commissionerate had imposed a ban on granting recognition to new private colleges for the academic years 2022-23 and 2023-24, considering the increase in the number of private colleges in 2022. This ban is still in effect.

Meaning of Multi-Disciplinary Institution

Until now, B.Ed colleges have been offering only subjects related to the B.Ed course. However, under NEP, B.Ed colleges will now have to be operated on the lines of multi-disciplinary institutions. They will have to transform into educational or research institutions that offer courses related to various disciplines such as science, engineering, sociology, arts, humanities, etc. For this, they will need to obtain recognition as general academic colleges from the government.

Department Formed a Committee and Concluded

Upon the release of the new guidelines, the department formed a committee to study them and provide suggestions. It is reported that the committee has recommended granting NOCs for operating general academic colleges to B.Ed colleges, but the matter is currently stalled.

Studying the Guidelines

According to the guidelines, B.Ed colleges will be recognised by the NCTE. We are studying the guidelines in detail. A committee has been formed for this purpose.
Om Prakash Bairwa, Commissioner College Education