Tens of thousands of unemployed high-school graduates in West Bengal (pop. 80.2 million; unemployed adults: 3.34 million) heaved a collective sigh of relief on January 19 when news came of a breakthrough, albeit temporary, in the 15-month impasse relating to primary school teacher appointments in the state. As reported in these columns earlier (EW October 2009), over 200,000 diplomas issued by 142 primary teacher training institutes (PTTIs) — including 58 government-run — in West Bengal became worthless pieces of paper when the Delhi-based National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), the affiliating body of PTTIs, derecognised them retrospectively from 1993. NCTE’s grouse: 31,141 unqualified class X or XII school leavers had been admitted into the PTTIs annually despite its clear rule that only class XII leavers with above 50 percent average can be admitted. Therefore 200,000 diplomas issued by the 142 PTTIs during the period 1993-2009 were invalid, ruled NCTE.
With the state government committed to urgently appointing teachers in its 70,000 primary schools, unable to do so as the teachers are not sufficiently qualified, the education of 10.4 million children enroled in them has been adversely affected.
Fortunately with bureaucrats of the Union HRD ministry and West Bengal’s education department putting their heads together, a solution has been found. The HRD ministry has directed NCTE to introduce a one-year ‘bridge course’ for disqualified students of PTTIs in West Bengal. The first academic module of its kind in India, the proposed bridge course will in effect push classes X and XI students admitted into PTTIs through in one year instead of two, and will immediately benefit 7,302 students in the state. This apart, arrangements have been made to help 7,080 students, who passed class XII with lesser than 50 percent average but had been admitted into PTTIs, improve their score through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) exam system. The contents of the bridge course are being concurrently drawn in Bengali to help 16,759 disqualified students.
In the larger context, the brouhaha over recruiting primary teachers seems overblown given that the number of aspirant teachers benefiting is relatively small. There is nevertheless, a political dimension to the matter. By tradition in West Bengal, primary teachers are requisitioned to discharge the respon-sibilities of polling officers during general and state assembly elections. Therefore their well-being and loyalty is of utmost importance to the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), which has ruled West Bengal since 1977.
Thus the prime motive behind admitting unqualified class X and XII school leavers into PTTIs was to expand this traditional vote bank of the CPM. But with NCTE rejecting their qualification to teach in primary schools, the impasse needed to be broken urgently. The bridge course suggested by the HRD ministry is the panacea.
Meanwhile with the study progra-mmes of 200,000 PTTI diploma holders having been extended by a year under the bridge course compromise formula, teacher shortages are being felt in primary schools. Admits the principal of one of Kolkata’s most respected schools: “Yes we’re worried about being able to fulfil our staff needs in the next academic year.”
The bridge course is undoubtedly a good compromise, but it has taken too much time to be negotiated.
Sujoy Gupta (Kolkata)