Central to this situation is the role of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) which became a statutory body in 1993 to promote “planned and coordinated development, regulation and proper maintenance of norms and standards in the teacher education system throughout the country” (from the NCTE Act of 1993). It has both academic and regulatory functions. Its academic functions include conducting studies and recommending strategies for teacher education, promoting innovations and research in teacher education and formulating schemes and identifying recognised institutions for teacher development programmes. The regulatory functions include according recognition for teacher education institutions and courses, laying down guidelines for compliance, laying down norms for courses and minimum eligibility criteria, evolving an appraisal system and “taking all necessary steps to prevent commercialisation of teacher education.” Here is a body that was created to regulate and set standards. But what really happened was quite the opposite. A committee constituted in 2007-08 to review the functioning of NCTE recommended an overhaul.

Given the long history of the merging of the roles of standard-setters, regulators and administrators (NCTE being a classic example) there is a need to reform the way regulatory bodies are created and administered. The recently released Yashpal Committee report on higher education is reported to have made similar observations on other regulatory bodies that ended up becoming gate keepers for vested interests, such as the AICTE and UGC. The Human Resources Development Minister needs to look at similar entities in teachers’ education.

India today needs an autonomous academic standard setting regime, one that is outside the direct administrative control of the ministry or its ancillary bodies like NCERT. We need one that cannot metamorphose into a government department and end up perpetuating the problem. There is a need to create a body that draws on eminent educationists, academics, practicing teachers and social activists engaged in education. This body should monitor whether standards are being adhered to and generate public pressure for compliance through periodic research-based reports on quality — not only with respect to learning outcomes in schools but also management audit of government funded institutions starting from the cluster and block level resource centres, the state councils for educational research and training and the NCERT. Developing benchmarks accessible to all should be part of the mandate of the new regulatory body.

... contd.