Kolkata: As many as 253 private Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) colleges in West Bengal have been denied permission to admit students from the next academic session, an official said. The West Bengal University of Teachers' Training, Education Planning and Administration (WBUTTEPA) has denied permission to these institues due to lack of proper infrastructure.
The WBUTTEPA, however, has granted consent to 350 other private B.Ed colleges to proceed with the teacher training course.
Here's why B.Ed colleges denied permission
WBUTTEPA has denied permission to these institutes for not adhering to the National Council of Teachers' Education (NCTE) guidelines, particularly in terms of ensuring proper infrastructure for teacher training, an official of the university said. The guidelines required ensuring an adequate teacher-student ratio, and the private colleges were informed about the urgency of following this ratio before submitting applications for permission, he said.
The guidelines called for ensuring adequate teacher-students ratio and the private colleges were intimated about the urgency to follow this ratio before submitting applications for permission, the official said.
Notably, there are over 600 private and 25 state-run B.Ed colleges in West Bengal.
BSAEU notification on affiliation or accreditation
This comes after the recent notification from Baba Saheb Ambedkar Education University (BSAEU), the nodal university in West Bengal controlling the functioning of all B.Ed and D.El.Ed colleges, warned against institutes operating without the necessary affiliation or accreditation, leading to this development.
"It has been brought to the notice of BSAEU that some ill-motivated persons engaged in jeopardising the interest of students, colleges and the university in particular are using social media as a means to malign them. News of getting affiliation against monetary consideration is being spread by these dishonest persons to create a negative perception and to stall normal academic activities," the notification from BSAEU read.
BSAEU also clarified that meeting all the norms set by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) is the only criterion for granting affiliation.
During the investigation into the multi-crore cash-for-school-jobs case in West Bengal, central agencies also detected the involvement of multiple Diploma of Elementary Education (D.El.Ed) and B.Ed institutes in the matter, especially in the recruitment of primary teachers.
(With agencies input)
