B.Ed – Bachelors of Education has emerged as one of the most highly regarded degrees in the recent times. The importance of the degree stems from the recognition that imparting education not only depends on the subject knowledge of the teachers, but also largely on how they teach. Their understanding of the students, their individual needs and psychology, the most effective and fun way to communicate the subject matters to the students, and a variety of other considerations.
The B. Ed course is designed to train the aspiring teachers through these very important domains. As such, the National Council for Teacher Education prescribes the possession of the B. Ed degree as one of the essential requirements for a candidate to be appointed as a teacher.
But, sadly enough, what was devised to usher a revolution in the process of teaching and learning, has potentially resulted in a nexus of corruption and forgery. There are growing concerns voiced by education stakeholders that the B. Ed course could amount to the largest number of fraudulent degrees in states like West Bengal.
This becomes more relevant to us as the hill region produces a large proportion of the teaching aspirants, a lot of whom are becoming a part of this nexus to fulfil their basic requirement.
What is more surprising is that the irregularity isn’t being carried out under the blanket, but blatantly and in broad daylight.
Allegations from various quarters, students, teachers, civil society point to practices where Teacher Training colleges, in places like Murshidabad, Malda and Birbhum are handing out degrees, without requiring the candidates to attend any classes. Reports suggest that certain private institutions may be operating by charging hefty fees from the students to enroll them into the B. Ed course, and in turn students don’t have to attend classes or even complete their internship. They just have to visit there for a couple days every semester to write the examination, and the rest of the work is done by the management. That is all that the students need to do. Just in over 4 rounds of visit to the institution, a regular B. Ed degree is ready for them.
The process of recruitment in these colleges are run through a network of intermediaries or “agents”, who reportedly assist candidates with admissions to certain institutions. These “agents” are said to be either the ex-students of such institues or run some kind of educational consultancy. They are allegedly given a certain amount of “cut-money” per student for the enrollment. The posters advertising these courses run all over Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The advertisers don’t put the name of the college in the posters, but just the name of the place or town.
The audacity, however, to brag that they can provide the degree without the candidates to be having to attend the classes has always gone beyond my comprehension.
The Enforcement Directorate has previously alleged that the Education Ministry officials and former Minister of Education in West Bengal Partha Chatterjee took bribes to give licence to B.Ed colleges across the state.
In 2023, the West Bengal government has cancelled the approval of 253 colleges of the state’s 624 private B.Ed colleges after investigations revealed anomalies and mal-practice at these institutions. However, recent reports suggest that such practices are continuing in many institutions across the state.
Assam government initiated scrutiny of B.Ed and D. El.Ed degrees awarded by universities in West Bengal, following allegations and complaints of universities in West Bengal issuing such degrees illegally.
Most of the candidates obtaining these degrees are simultaneously working elsewhere. Many are already teaching, even in Government schools across the hills (or at least there have been cases). Their attendance and their salaries both have been running simultaneously. Later the same “regular” degree gets accepted by the same Employer, including the Government, pursued in the same period that they were paying them their salaries in full.
The question is not if these institutions are having a free hand on the course and the degree, but the question is that is the authority unaware about it? Or will they be the last one to know? Or is it a willful neglect or rather acceptance?
If the degrees are so readily available in the market, distributed easily to those who can pay the price – why to even care about making it an essential requirement for recruitment.
The situation is so bleak that even Calcutta High Court had to express their frustration over widespread irregularities in B.Ed College Admissions in West Bengal
In a state where most of the things under the purview of education has been under severe scrutiny, does this not add to the sense of willful negligence? Are the hundreds of people who are graduating every year from these institutions actually even trained??
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