The West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) has admitted to a violation of NCTE norms in conducting compulsory on-the-job bridge courses for primary teachers recruited in different state-run schools in West Bengal. Recently, the board submitted a report on this count at the single-judge bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay where the board authorities have admitted that there had been no such bridge course for the primary teachers during the last nine years, as stated in a report by IANS.
According to the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) norms, this bridge course is compulsory for all recruited primary teachers before they are actually appointed in different state-run schools. The said bridge course is supposed to be for six months. A hearing in the matter at Justice Gangopadhyay’s bench was scheduled for August 4.
Moreover, the last time the compulsory bridge course was conducted was in 2015, as the report submitted to the single-judge bench states. Recently, seven candidates for primary teachers filed a petition at the Calcutta High Court alleging that thousands of primary teachers were working in different state-run schools without going through the compulsory bridge course.
After a detailed hearing on the matter, Justice Gangopadhyay sought a report from WBBPE. Finally, the board admitted the severe lapse of not conducting the compulsory bridge course as mandated by the NCTE.
The counsel of the Calcutta High Court and state BJP leader Tarunjyoti Tiwari, who represented the petitioners in this particular case, claimed that as many as 5,000 individuals are currently teaching as primary teachers in different state-run schools in West Bengal. “Starting from the recruitment phase till appointment without conducting NCTE-mandated courses, there were irregularities everywhere,” he said.
