With Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) yet to recognise the in-service training imparted to them, the threat on jobs of more than 16,000 teachers working in different primary schools of Uttarakhand still persists. With passage of the National Council for Teacher Education Bill (Amended)– 2019 which grants retrospective recognition to the teacher education courses of certain institutions in parliament, these teachers were hoping that threat over their jobs was removed. However, their hopes have got dashed as the file for grant of approval for their training which is necessary for saving their jobs is pending in the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) from last many months.

The Uttarakhand Education Minister, Arvind Pandey, while interacting with The Pioneer, accepted that the  the special Basic Teaching Certificate (BTC) teachers is still unresolved. He said that the NCTE would take the final decision on the issue. The Minister said that he would take up the issue with the Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank soon.

After the amendment in the NCTE Act, the apex body of teacher education sought details about the in service training provided to these teachers at various District Institute of Education and Training (DIET). The education department sent all the details required to the NCTE and the necessary approval of the training from the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT). However, the important file of approval has got stuck up in the HRD ministry.

It is worth mentioning here that when the NCTE amendment Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha last year, many leaders, including Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, Rajya Sabha MP, Anil Baluni and Education Minister Arvind Pandey took credit for saving the jobs of teachers. The new Bill aims to amend the NCTE Act of 1993 which grants retrospective permission to the teacher training courses which were not approved by the apex body of teacher education.

 The issue 

There are more than 16,000 serving teachers in Uttarakhand who are Special BTC (referred as Vishisht BTC teachers). These Bachelor of Education (BEd) qualified teachers were imparted an in- service training of special BTC in different DIET from the year 2001 to 2016 to make them eligible to teach in primary classes in the Government schools. However, in 2018, it was realised that the all important recognition from NCTE was not taken by the education department of Uttarakhand for special BTC course. A shocked department then pleaded to NCTE to grant recognition in retrospection which was not accepted as it violates the Act by which it is governed. As per the new guidelines of the union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry, only the Diploma in Elementary Education (DElEd) qualified candidates are eligible to teach the primary students. It had made it clear that after March 2019, all primary teachers who don’t have a DElEd degree or BTC certificate would be removed from primary teaching.

The BEd qualified candidates who are teaching primary classes were given an option to register for a six months bridge course offered by the NIOS. The teachers however objected to it and most of them did not registered for the bridge course.

After passage of amendment Act, the teachers thought that the problem which was created by laxity of department is sorted. However with MHRD sitting over the file of these teachers, the threat to their jobs still persists.