Summary:
DEHRADUN: Protesting against the National Council for Teacher Education’s (NCTE) refusal to approve the Special Basic Training Certificate (Vishist BTC) of Uttarakhand, hundreds of primary school teachers from Pauri Garhwal, under the aegis of Prathmik Shikshak Sangh, gathered in Dehradun on Wednesday. Over 13,000 primary school teachers in government schools across the state hold the Special BTC.Officials of the body said that teachers can enroll for a six-month bridge course from the National Institute of Open School (NIOS) to be eligible to teach. But educators said that they do not want to opt for it since after the course their previous experience may not count.“Around 13,000 government school teachers will be affected by this move. In the meantime, teachers should register themselves for the course or else they will be barred from teaching soon.” The protests were part of a series of agitations organized by the association during which teachers from different districts will gather in Dehradun over the course of this week.The NCTE has said that after March 2019, all primary teachers who do not have a diploma in elementary education (DLEd) or BTC certificate would be removed from primary teaching..