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. 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. 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. if we do not do the six-month course from the National Institute of Open School (NIOS), we are at the risk of losing our jobs,” said Digvijay Singh Chauhan, secretary, Prathmik Shikshak Sangh. He also mentioned that on day two of the protests, teachers from Tehri will be assembling in front of the education directorate in the state capital.Seema Jaunsari, member of the State Council of Educational Research & Training (SCERT), added, “We have received a letter from NCTE stating that it is an in-service training and not recognised. We are trying to approach the ministry of human resource development (MHRD). In the meantime, teachers should register themselves for the course or else they will be barred from teaching soon.”

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