The future of teacher training in Tamil Nadu hangs in the balance as a crucial study is set to evaluate the readiness of the state's 678 BEd colleges. These institutions face a national deadline of 2030 to transform into multidisciplinary institutes, a mandate set by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).
Major Study to Gauge Ground Reality
The Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education (TANSCHE) is spearheading this vital assessment. It has partnered with two premier institutes—the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai and the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) in Bengaluru—to conduct a comprehensive analysis. The study aims to scrutinize the current quality of BEd colleges and the suitability of their programmes.
"We wanted to know the quality of our BEd colleges and our BEd programmes. The quality of teachers defines the quality of schools," stated M P Vijayakumar, Vice-Chairman of TANSCHE. He emphasized that the analysis will identify existing gaps and chart a path for improvement in teacher education.
Practical Hurdles and Stakeholder Consultation
However, significant concerns about the practicality of the 2030 deadline have already surfaced. Vijayakumar openly called the target for stand-alone BEd colleges to convert "not practical." This sentiment is echoed by experts involved in the study.
Professor Padma M Sarangapani, Chairperson of the Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education at TISS, Mumbai, detailed the study's scope. "It will focus on the current quality of institutions, the aspirations of people who are currently joining, and the views of schools on the suitability of programmes which are on offer. It will be a stakeholders' consultation," she explained.
She acknowledged the difficulty of the transformation but stressed its necessity. "Converting stand-alone teacher education institutions into multidisciplinary institutions is very difficult. However, it is desirable; otherwise, teacher education becomes very isolated from the environment of undergraduate education or schools," Professor Sarangapani added.
Structural Challenges and Institutional Vacancies
Beyond the core mandate, educationists have flagged additional constraints linked to the new Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP). Key concerns include:
- No provision for postgraduate teachers within the ITEP framework.
- Segmented teacher preparation aligned to the 5+3+3+4 school structure.
- The requirement of a national-level entrance test.
Compounding these challenges is an institutional leadership vacuum. The Tamil Nadu Teacher Education University, established in 2008, has been operating without a vice-chancellor for over two years, potentially hindering decisive action.
The findings of the TANSCHE-TISS-NIAS study will be pivotal. They will determine whether Tamil Nadu's vast network of teacher training colleges can successfully evolve to meet national standards and, ultimately, shape the quality of the state's future educators.
