THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The two-year-long B.Ed course will be a four-year professional course from next year. This is part of professionalising the teaching sector like engineering and medical courses.

The course, which includes undergraduate studies, is offered in arts and science colleges. Eligibility will be plus two. The curriculum committee headed by Prof Mohan B Menon handed over its report to higher education minister R Bindu.

With the release of the first batch of four-year B.Ed, the existing B.Ed course will cease to exist. The two-year TTC course to become LP and UP school teachers will be discontinued next year.

The admission will be through the National Teachers Eligibility Test conducted on the pattern of NEET. The fee will be fixed by the government. From 2030 onwards, there will be only a four-year B.Ed. This change is part of the National Education Policy.

The four-year B.Ed. will be along with three streams – BA, BSc and BCom. From the first year onwards, a fixed credit will be for teacher training. Students will get a B.Ed along with graduation when they pass all four years. Students can complete three years and complete the course but they won't get a B.Ed. and will only get a degree.

Four-year B.Ed degree is available at NIT Kozhikode and Central University, Kasargaod. The annual fee at NIT is Rs 1 lakh. The course will be offered by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) in colleges with the best NAAC grade. Four-year B.Ed will not be allowed in training colleges that currently have a B.Ed course.

Two Major Courses

There will be two major courses in the four-year B.Ed. One must be teacher education. The latter can be a subject of choice. The syllabus will be revised to world-class standards.

B.Ed for Primary Teachers too

To become a teacher from LKG to class II, the options can be selected as foundation, preparatory for classes 3 to 5, middle from 6 to 8 and secondary from 9th to 12th. There will be 12 categories of courses in four categories each in BA, BSc and BCom. The options can be selected according to the category in which one wants to be a teacher in. There will be differences in the syllabus and method of study.

Added benefit

1. Four-year B.Ed. is beneficial for a foreign job. Many foreign countries have this practice.
2. The quality of learning will improve further as all the teachers are graduate qualified

There are 16,000 B.Ed seats in 188 training colleges.

Four-year B.Ed. has been started in 73 colleges across the country.

"Quality teachers can be made. The teachers in the pre-primary section will also be graduates."

- Prof. Mohan B. Menon

Chairman of the Committee