Indore: Following a complaint lodged with Prime Minister Office, National Council for Teacher Education said that it had already issued letter pertaining to granting 10 per cent reservation to students belonging to economically weaker section (EWS) in teacher education courses without affecting the existing quota of SC/ST/ OBC and intake of general category.
Educationalist KK Tiwari had lodged a complaint with PMO stating that 10 per cent quota was not granted to EWS students in BEd, MEd etc courses.
The PMO had forwarded the complaint to the NCTE which in turn wrote to Tiwari that it had issued letter pertaining to grant of 10 per cent quota to EWS students to state governments in July last year.
The NCTE letter reads: “if the state government has a reservation policy for admission in teacher education institutes and the same is applicable to private and self-financing teacher education institutions, then the state government shall ensure that 10 per cent reservation for EWS would be operational from academic year 2019-20 without affecting the percentage reservation of SC/ST/OBC/General.”
After a year of denial, the state government recently ordered for granting 10 per cent reservation to EWS in teacher education programmes but not on over and above of the sanctioned intake, as was prescribed by the central government.
In the guidelines for admissions in NCTE courses for session 2020-21, the Department of Higher Education mentions about 10 per cent reservation to students belonging to EWS. But it did not increase 26 per cent seats in the courses which was main condition attached to the policy for grant of quota to EWS.
“Grant of 10 per cent quota to EWS without hike in sanctioned intake is going to eat into the share of seats meant to unreserved category. We are opposed to faulty execution of EWS quota in teacher education courses. I will soon move court over the issue,” said Tiwari.
