The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved a Bill to amend the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) Act, 1993 to grant retrospective recognition to the Central/State/Universities who conduct teacher education courses without NCTE permission.
“The NCTE (Amendment) Act, 2017 will grant retrospective recognition to the central/state universities that are found to be conducting teacher education courses without NCTE permission,” a press release stated.
“The retrospective recognition was being given as a one- time measure to ensure that the future of the students who had passed out or were currently enrolled was not jeopardised,” it added.
The amendment will make students studying in these Institutions/Universities, or already passed out from here, eligible for employment as a teacher.
The amendment has been proposed by HRD Ministry’s Department of School Education and Literacy.
As per norms, all institutions running courses such as B.Ed. and D.El.Ed, have to obtain recognition from the NCTE under Section 14 of the Act.
The NCTE wrote to all Central Universities and /State Obvernrnents / State Universities / District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) informing them about the legal provisions making it mandatory to seek prior permission for starting Teacher Education Courses and giving them time till 31-03-2017 to inform NCTE if any such Institution/University is running a course without permission of NCTE, for a one-time resolution of past issues.
The NCTE Act, 1993 came into force on July 1, 1995 and is applicable throughout the country, except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
The main objective of the Act Is to provide for the establishment of a NCTE to achieve planned and coordinated development of the teacher education system, regulation and ensure proper maintenance of norms and standards in the said system.
In order to achieve the objectives of the Act, separate provisions have been made in the Act, to recognize teacher education courses and to lay down guidelines for compliance by recognized Institutions/Universities.