Himachal Pradesh: Education Commission fines NCFSC group of institutions to the tune of Rs 34.05 lakh

The commission found irregularities in the conduct of a teacher training programme and has declared all admissions to the programme, which was conducted in 17 institutions, 'invalid'
Teacher training programme| Representative Picture | Pic: Express
Teacher training programme| Representative Picture | Pic: Express

A hefty penalty of nearly Rs 34.05 lakh has been imposed on NCFSC group of institutions by the Himachal Pradesh Educational Commission for violating the regulations of a teacher education programme, officials told PTI.

Students have been admitted to 17 institutions in two years Diploma in Nursery Teacher Training (DNTT) and one-year Nursery Teacher Training (NTT) courses. These institutions were granted affiliation from the NCFSC in violation of Regulations on the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE), the officials informed.

Declaring the admissions 'invalid', the double bench of the Himachal Pradesh Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission (HPPEIRC), comprising Chairman and member, Major General (Retd) Atul Kaushik and Sashi Kant Sharma directed the erring 17 institutions to refund the fee with nine per cent interest. Apart from this, the HPPEIRC has imposed a penalty of Rs 34,05,480 on the NCFSC group of institutions, Kaushik told PTI.

The fee charged for DNTT and NTT course was Rs 38,940 and Rs 24,780 and the total fee recovered was Rs 1,702,740. Only eight institutions provided the details of admissions made and fees charged. Director, Elementary Education has been asked to initiate criminal proceedings against the institutions by filing an FIR, Kaushik told PTI on Thursday, December 1.

How it all started
Taking notice of an advertisement in a Hindi daily regarding providing a Diploma in NTT, Early Childhood care Education, Yoga Teacher Training and Nanny courses by NCFSC group of institutions under Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Development Centre Meerut, Union Government, the Regulatory Commission asked the respondent to appear before the Commission with agreements executed with institutions, schools and colleges to verify the genuineness of Nursery courses, Kaushik added.

PTI reported that the respondent appeared before the commission on August 18 and submitted a copy of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the MSME and the respondent but the commission asked them to bring the original documents. In the meantime, a complaint was received on October 22 regarding an advertisement in a Hindi newspaper about admission to these courses and agreements signed by the respondent with seventeen institutions.

The complaint also pointed out that the above courses were not in the schedule of MSME from April 2022 to March 2023 and since the complaints were of similar nature, these were merged suo moto. Following the perusal of records, the commission declared the admissions as "invalid" and imposed a penalty and refund of the fee charged. The order also directed the affiliating universities to take action against the institutions which signed the MoU without any sanction from the University, the Education Regulator said.

The skill-based programmes under the central skill flagship organisation are oriented to overcome skill shortages in the country and abroad. NTT is under the exclusive overall domain of education training handled by NCTE.

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