Thaindian News

New Delhi, Aug 25 (IANS) The Rajya Sabha Thursday passed a bill for re-creating a national body to regulate schools and teachers.

The National Council of Teachers Education (Amendment) Bill, 2010 was passed by the upper house, restoring the powers in the National Council of Teachers Education (NCTE), a central body whose powers were curtailed by a Supreme Court order in 2008.

The NCTE, which was established in 1995 to regulate schools and teachers and lay out standards for qualification of teachers, was reduced to a teacher’s training body by the apex court, which in its 2008 judgment left the responsibility of determining teacher’s quality to states.

“There was a fear that if this judgment were to be acted upon, we would have a situation arising in the country where different states would have different qualifications for their teachers, which, of course, is not acceptable,” Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said, introducing the bill in the house.

The bill was then brought to parliament last year, and sent to a parliamentary standing committee.

The amendment will now give NCTE the power to govern and lay down principles for teacher’s appointment in all schools.

The amendment has been made in tune with the right to education (RTE) act.

The provisions of this bill shall apply to teachers in institutions and schools providing pre-primary, primary, upper-primary, secondary, and senior secondary or intermediate education recognised by the central or state governments or any other authority.