Chennai: The number of applications received for B.Ed. admission counselling this year is down by 50 per cent compared to last year. It appears many students are turning away from the teacher education course too.
The one year B.Ed. course was converted into a two-year course from 2015-16 and Tamil Nadu B.Ed. admissions committee received only 3,736 applications for the current academic year, which is just over half of the 7,000 applications it had received last year.
There are 1,777 seats available for counselling in 21 government and government aided colleges of education. Applications for the counselling sold across 13 centres in the state from August 1 to 9.
“This year more than 4,000 applications were sold. Of these the committee has received 3,736 applications,” said M.S. Thillai Nayaki, secretary, Tamil Nadu B.Ed. Admissions and principal, Lady Willingdon Institute of Advanced Study of Education. The counselling for B.Ed. admissions will begin on August 22.
Teacher education experts pointed out that the decision of extending the duration of the course from one year to two years is acting as a deterrent for many students. As per the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) guidelines, the duration of B.Ed. course was extended to two years from 2015-16.
“After B.Ed. was made a two-year course, students may have lost interest in it. Many students are pursuing PG courses instead of B.Ed.,” said G.Visvanathan, former vice-chancellor, Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University.
“Usually, girls opt for B.Ed. course. Now, their parents are not willing to let them take the course as they feel that it would delay the marriage of their daughters. The course duration has become a hindrance,” he said.
The Teachers Recruitment Board has not made any recruitment in the past one year. The Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) has also not been conducted for more than two years.
“The employment also plays a major role. If they conduct the TET exam then students may show interest in joining the course,” he added. There are 703 self-financing colleges of education in the state and more than 50,000 seats available in them.
“Private colleges also will be facing a similar problem. But, the second level scorers might opt for a nearby private college than a faraway government college,” Visvanathan said.
“The statistics show government schools are having 7,000 surplus graduate teachers. So, there won’t be any B.T. assistant recruitment for the next two years,” said Sami. Sathiamoorthy, president, Tamil Nadu High and Higher Secondary Schools’ Headmasters Association.
“With no recruitment in sight and the course duration also extended to two years means students and parents are focusing more on cracking competitive exams than studying the B.Ed. course,” he added.
MHRD releases draft new education policy in 11 Indian languages
The Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) has released the draft new education policy in 11 Indian languages including Tamil, Malayalam and Sanskrit on its website. It has also extended the deadline to September 15 for sending suggestions on the policy.
MHRD has released its ‘Some Inputs for Draft National Education Policy 2016’ on June 30. Initially, the 43-page document was released only in English and Hindi languages.
Educationists and teachers across the country demanded that the ministry release the policy in all regional languages to enable more people to read and give suggestions regarding the new education policy.
After more than a month, MHRD has released the policy in 11 Indian languages.
“The central government should release the document in all the Indian languages and it should give at least three months more time to the people to read and respond,” said P.B. Prince Gajendrababu, general secretary, State Platform of Common School System.
“The government should also form a committee of educationists to review the suggestions on the new education policy,” he demanded.
