New Delhi: The Supreme Court has upheld a verdict of the Rajasthan High Court that graduates in Bachelor of Education are ineligible to teach in primary section, ie, Classes 1 to 5.
The verdict pointed out that B Ed graduates are not provided the necessary training to teach in primary classes and, therefore, it was not possible for them to ensure quality of education at the primary level.
A Bench of the apex court consisting of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia also made it clear in their order that the eligibility should be in tune with the provisions of the Right to Education as well as Fundamental Rights.
The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) had issued a notification in 2018, stating that B Ed graduates can become teachers in classes from 1 to 5. Following this, the exclusion of B Ed graduates from the Rajasthan Teacher Eligibility Test (RTET) was challenged in the High Court.
The Rajasthan High Court ruled that the NCTE notification was invalid and that B.Ed graduates are ineligible to become teachers in primary classes. The appeal was filed in the Supreme Court against this order.