6-month bridge course for in-service BEd teachers

Bhanu P Lohumi

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Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 26

The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) is offering a certificate in professional development programme for elementary teachers (PDPET), also called the DElEd bridge course, for in-service BEd degree holders teaching primary classes but not possessing a two-year diploma in elementary education (DElEd) or JBT.

The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) had issued clear instructions in this regard and asked state Elementary Education Departments to ensure that teachers who failed to do the course by March 2019 be terminated. The teachers were under tremendous pressure as obtaining a two-year diploma to stay in service was a difficult task, especially for those working in private schools.

The State Elementary Education Department had directed all Deputy Directors to ensure that all such untrained teachers acquired the requisite qualification by March 31, 2019, failing which their services would be terminated. However, teachers appointed before the implementation of Right to Education Act-2009 need not follow the instructions issued by the NCTE. The Deputy Directors have been asked to take urgent steps and concrete action to ensure that all untrained teachers working in private schools acquire the minimum qualification.

The six-month bridge course is open only for in-service elementary teachers holding a BEd degree but teaching primary classes and teaching in schools as defined under 2(n) of the RTE Act-2009 and recruited as per the Act. Teachers fulfilling the eligibility criteria have been asked to get registered before November 30 and the course will be held from January 1 to June 30, 2018, while the registration, verification and finalisation of the registration data will be completed by December 31, 2017.

The fee for the course is Rs 5,000 plus examination fee of Rs 250 per paper per attempt and exams will be held in the last week of July 2018 so that the certificate in PDPET is obtained before the deadline of March 31, 2019. The six-month certificate bridge course is recognised by the NCTE but the in-service teachers not securing 50 per cent marks in Class XII examination will not be eligible for registration.

It has been made clear to the private schools also that the services of the teachers who failed to improve the qualification would be terminated with effect from April 1, 2019, and in case, the private schools did not comply with the directions of the government, they would be de-recognised with immediate effect.

The Directorate of Elementary Education, Himachal Pradesh, has identified 72 private BEd colleges and DIETs (District Institutes of Education and Training) in 10 non-tribal districts of the state for personal contact programme (PCP), workshops, classroom-based activities and school-based activities.