New Delhi: once you note that the Right of all Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act requires a 30:1 teacher pupil ratio and lays down minimum qualifications for teachers, it becomes easy to see why state governments should be concerned with the issue of teacher training. Since only diploma-holders in elementary education are allowed to teach students from Class I to V, there is a frightening shortage of teachers in this category.

According to the HRD Ministry, of the 13.3 lakh teachers to be recruited, Uttar Pradesh requires 3.9 lakh, Bihar 2.2 lakh, West Bengal 1 lakh, Assam around 2 lakh. Among these three states have already asked for exemption under the RTE Act so they may make recruitments on a provisional basis allowing the teachers to acquire the Diploma within five years.

But there are states with surplus BEd degree-holders and they may come to the aid of states with shortfall. For instance, every year around one lakh students complete their degrees in education in Uttar Pradesh. These degree-holders can be absorbed into the elementary education sector with the help of a six-month special training module that the National Council for Teacher Education [NCTE] is designing. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have reached saturation level in terms of BEd courses offered at their institutions. The NCTE has put a ban on 12 states seeking to offer more BEd courses. However, in the backdrop of the RTE, this may now be revised.

In the context of the RTE, states presently facing ban may now get approvals. We have asked education secretaries for data on teacher and students in their states and the number of colleges offering teacher’s training. Based on the feedback, NCTE will decide further course of action.