Congress points to panel report on teacher education flagging need for filling up vacancies

The Congress on Wednesday highlighted the recommendations of the parliamentary standing committee on education, including filling up of 10 lakh vacancies in school teaching positions around the country.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh pointed out that the committee on education under the chairmanship of Digvijaya Singh has released a report on teacher education.

Highlighting key observations and recommendations from the committee, Ramesh said it calls for filling up of 10 lakh vacancies in school teaching positions around the country, including in state government schools, Kendriya Vidyalayas, and Navodaya Vidyalayas.

The report also calls for stopping the appointment of contractual teachers, which undermines the Constitutional provision of reservation in government jobs for people from the SC, ST, and OBC communities, Ramesh said on X.

The panel calls for comprehensive revision of the draft National Council on Teacher Education (NCTE) Regulations, 2025, to move away from the ‘hyperspecialisation and segmentation’ of teachers education through the current version of the Integrated Teacher Education Program (ITEP) programme, the Congress leader pointed out.

The committee bats for continuation of the Bachelors in Elementary Education (B. El. Ed) programme, which was one of the first teacher education programmes to be taught in a university and has had a reputation for producing quality teachers for three decades, Ramesh said.

He pointed out that the panel also calls for the resumption of recruitment of permanent staff in the NCTE, which has not conducted recruitments since 2019 It also calls for expansion and empowerment of District Institution of Education and Training (DIETs) even after the widespread adoption of the ITEP programme, Ramesh said.

The report was tabled in Parliament last week.