Kolkata: In order to ameliorate the plight of the affected students of the Primary Teacher Training Institutes (PTTIs) in West Bengal, the Government of India, has decided to offer a one-year Bridge Course to such students who are Class XII with 50% marks.

The Course has already been formulated after joint consultation between NCTE and Government of West Bengal.

It is being prepared in Bengali and is expected to be ready by November 2009. As many as 16,759 students would immediately benefit by this.

Arrangements have been made for helping 7,080 students, who have passed Class XII with less than 50% marks, to improve their score through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) exam system.

The remaining 7,302 students, who are only class X pass, can appear for Class XII exam through the open school (either of the NIOS or the State Government).

Once these students attain the minimum qualification, they would also be eligible for the Bridge Course.

The NCTE has also granted certain concessions to the PTTIs to enable them to be recognized. After their recognition, these institutions can not only offer the Bridge Course facility to the affected students, but also provide regular pre-service training for preparing teachers for the future.

In West Bengal, the Primary Teacher Training Institutes (PTTI) were imparting one year D.Ed (Diploma in Education) course and eligibility for admission to this course was X class.

As per the norms of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) the duration of D.Ed course should be two years and eligibility for admission is XII class with 50% marks.

The Calcutta High Court held that the course run by these institutions were illegal as they were not recognized by the NCTE. As per the NCTE Act, no institution can offer a teacher education course without recognition.

This judgement has adverse implications for 31,141 persons who were either awarded diploma by the non-recognized PTTIs or could not write the examination because of the injunction by the Court (as per information provided by the West Bengal Government).

The Government of West Bengal in the recent advertisement published for recruitment of primary teachers has invited applications from Class X pass persons. This is in violation of the NCTE Regulations and the spirit of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.

The Central Government has urged the Government of West Bengal to revisit its recruitment process and ensure that persons possessing minimum qualification as prescribed by the NCTE are only recruited to avoid any future complication.