look news india
A big change is being seen these days among lakhs of youth preparing to become teachers in the entire country including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. Students who till a few years ago were pursuing Bachelor of Education i.e. B.Ed. (B.Ed.) degree, they were now ready to spend lakhs of rupees to get Diploma in Elementary Education i.e. D.El.Ed. (D.El.Ed.), formerly known as BTC in Uttar Pradesh. The vacant seats of D.El.Ed colleges in big education hubs like Lucknow, Prayagraj, Patna, Jaipur and Bhopal are now being filled in the very first counselling. There is no temporary trend behind this sudden change in attitude, but a historic legal decision of the Supreme Court of the country and the ground mathematics of posts in government teacher recruitment which has turned the entire scenario upside down.
The most important and decisive reason for this huge surge in demand for D.El.Ed is the much-discussed decision of the Supreme Court, in which the situation regarding the mandatory qualification to become teachers in primary schools (classes 1 to 5) was completely clarified. The Court made it clear that only specially trained diploma holders (D.El.Ed.) are best suited for the psychological development and basic education of young children in primary classes. After the old gazette of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTCTE) was declared invalid, now the Basic Education Council or primary schools of any state can offer B.Ed. Degree holders are no longer directly eligible for teacher recruitment. This one legal decision has left only D.El.Ed at the primary level as the only and safe option for the students preparing for teacher recruitment.
Understanding the ratio of the number of seats and vacancies in teacher recruitment is the biggest mathematics of this entire matter. If we look at the statistics of the education departments of the states, the maximum number of vacancies always arise at the primary level (classes 1 to 5). Be it the huge teacher recruitments of 68,500 and 69,000 in Uttar Pradesh or the huge number of primary teacher posts under the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC TRE)—the number of vacancies in primary schools is three to four times more than that of upper primary (classes 6 to 8), TGT or PGT. When the doors of primary recruitments became reserved only for D.El.Ed candidates, it became clear to the students that the fastest and highest chances of getting a government job is possible through this course.
B.Ed. Degree holders do have the right to apply at Junior High School level of class 6 to 8, TGT of class 9-10 and PGT level of class 11-12, but the level of competition here is very tough and limited. Subject-wise posts are released for TGT and PGT, like Hindi, Mathematics, Science, Social Science etc. Often, there are only a few hundred or thousand posts in the entire state for a subject, on which lakhs of postgraduate and graduate candidates compete fiercely for each number. Apart from this, the process of these secondary recruitments sometimes takes years. On the other hand, there is no subject-wise division at the primary level and all eligible candidates compete in a single big common merit list, thereby significantly improving the selection rate for both general category and reserved category.
To become a teacher, it is mandatory to pass Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) or State Level Teacher Eligibility Test (UPTET, REET, BTET etc.). It consists of two papers—Paper-1 (for classes 1 to 5) and Paper-2 (for classes 6 to 8). As per the present rules, D.El.Ed pass candidates, if they are graduates, are fully eligible to appear for both Paper-1 and Paper-2. This means that D.El.Ed candidates can participate in Primary as well as Junior High School (Class 6 to 8) recruitments. On the contrary, B.Ed. Degree holders are restricted to only Paper-2 and above levels. Due to this double opportunity, the inclination of students has naturally increased towards D.El.Ed.
In the last few years, the situation had become such that there was silence in the private D.El.Ed institutes of Uttar Pradesh and other states and thousands of seats were left vacant without admission. But in recent sessions the situation of counseling has completely changed. There is a huge competition among the youth to be included in the state rank and merit list. The cutoff for DIET (District Institute of Education and Training) government seats is skyrocketing, while private colleges, which earlier used to look for students for direct admission, are now getting their seats filled in the very first round. This changing trend is a direct evidence of the fact that the hope of career stability and quick selection in government service has again made this two-year diploma course most popular.
If you are also dreaming of becoming a teacher and have done B.Ed. If you are confused between D.El.Ed vs D.El.Ed, then take the decision based on your educational qualification and goals. If your sole and primary goal is to get selected for the post of Assistant Teacher in a Government Primary School, then D.El.Ed is the most accurate, safe and practical option as per the current legal situation. Whereas if you have a long term vision of becoming a lecturer in higher education, secondary schools, teaching at TGT-PGT level in Kendriya Vidyalaya (KVS) or Navodaya Vidyalaya (NVS), then B.Ed. It remains a mandatory and prestigious degree even today. Choosing the right course at the right time can take you straight to your goal, saving you years of confusion and unnecessary court disputes.