Supreme Court: Supreme Court quashes order on BEd for primary | India News

NEW DELHI: Holding that BEd degree-holders are not trained to have the pedagogical skills to handle kids, the Supreme Court has ruled that only diploma holders in elementary education can be appointed as primary school teachers, reports Amit Anand Choudhary. It quashed the 2018 notification of National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) which specified BEd as qualification for primary teachers.

The court said the right to education implies quality education and appointing teachers not trained to teach kids at the primary level would amount to compromising the quality of education.
SC: NCTE didn’t apply mind to include BEd as qualifying degree

Differentiating between the skills needed for teachers for imparting educationin primary (Classes IIV) and higher classes, a Supreme court bench said the pedagogical approach required fro m a teacher at primary level is in a way unique as these are the initial formative years where a student has just stepped inside a classroom, and therefore needs to be handled with care and sensitivity. The court noted that National Council for Teacher Education was not giving priority to the pedagogical skills of a teacher and said, “It (our priority) is not to impart ‘quality’ education, but to provide more job avenues to BEd-trained candidates, as this seems to be the only reason for their inclusion, even in the presence of overwhelming evidence that BEd course is not a suitable course for primary classes.”
“Elementary education for children is today a fundamental right enshrined under Article 21A of Part III of the Constitution. Every child (up to 14 years of age), has a fundamental right to have free and compulsory elementary education. But then free and compulsory elementary educati on is of no use unless it is also a meaningful education. In other words, elementary education has to be of good quality, and not just a ritual or formality,” a bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia said.
“Acandidate who has a diploma in elementary education (D.El.Ed.) is trained to handle students at this level, as he has undergone a ped agogical course.A p erson who has a BEd qualification has been trained to impart teaching to secondary and higher secondary students. The ‘academic authority’ which is NCTE, is mandated by the Act to set up a curriculum and evaluation procedure for all-round development of a child, mindful of all the fears and anxieties which a child may have,” the bench said.
The SCsaid the National Council for Teacher Education did not apply its mind independently and it took the decision to include BEd as qualifying degree for primary teachers merely on the recommend ation of the Centre. Before 2018, only diploma holders in primary education could apply for teaching job at that level.