The University of Calicut is awaiting the outcome of a southern regional committee (SRC) meeting of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) before exploring other options to regain the recognition for its 11 teacher education centres offering B.Ed courses.
A team of university officials, led by Vice Chancellor M.K. Jayaraj, had met NCTE authorities in New Delhi recently. They were told that the decision to cancel the recognition was taken by the SRC. So, any follow-up on the issue is possible only with the committee’s concurrence. It is expected to meet soon.
The centres that lost recognition are at Chakkittapara, Kallayi, and Vadakara in Kozhikode, Manjeri and Malappuram in Malappuram, Valappad, Aranattukara, and Chalakudy in Thrissur, Sulthan Bathery and Kaniyambetta in Wayanad, and Koduvayoor in Palakkad. Fifty students each are being admitted to these centres every year. The academic prospects of 550 students will be in peril if the recognition is not restored. The issue assumes significance as the university is planning to issue notification for admissions to B.Ed courses in the coming days.
One of the reasons for the withdrawal of recognition last year was the failure to submit a joint fixed deposit receipt (FDR) in the name of the institution and the NCTE. The university officials claimed that though the university had presented FDR documents before the committee, they were not considered. Other facts such as availability of its own buildings, infrastructure, and qualified staff as per NCTE norms too were not taken into account, they claimed. These issues were highlighted during the Delhi visit and the NCTE officials seemed convinced about it, sources said.
The NCTE’s appellate authority had dismissed the university’s appeal on April 18 against an order issued by the SRC in 2021 that cancelled the recognition of the centres with retrospective effect from 2015. Earlier, the NCTE had withdrawn recognition for nine centres in 2014. The recognition of six of them, however, was restored by the appellate authority in 2015. The Kerala High Court allowed status quo to be maintained in the case of three other centres after the university filed a petition there. No action was taken against the remaining two centres. Thus, all the 11 centres resumed operations. All of them, however, lost their approval last year. The university is also planning to seek legal recourse by approaching the High Court again.
