One-year BEd will give PG and FYUP candidates ‘specialised entry’ into teaching

The National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE) will soon resubmit the one-year Bachelor of Education (BEd) program, which was closed in 2014. According to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 recommendations, the course will be offered to students who have completed their Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) or have obtained a master’s degree.

Experts say the rebirth of the one-year course will benefit FYUP and PG students because it will meet the growing demand for specialization in the teaching profession. While the two-year BEd program will continue, the new structure will emphasize research-driven training aligned with NEP 2020 to better equip future teachers.

Rebirth of the one-year BEd program does not mean the dissociation of the existing two-year BEd program. Talking to the Education Times, Pankaj Arora, chairperson of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), says, “The one-year BEd program will be for FYUP students and PG students. It will not be offered to students who have completed three-year UG programs, who will have to take admission in the existing two-year BEd program.”

He says, “The NCTE is coming up with a rationalized program as per the NEP 2020 command that postgraduate students also be given entry to the teaching profession. The one-year program aims to aspirant students who think about making their career on the teaching side. This aims to ensure that no individual is excluded and the teaching option is open to all.”

Multiple choices

The two-year BEd program, introduced in 2014, was studied to increase teacher training by school and internship exposure. “We noticed that the students wanted choices, and there was a growing demand for one-year BEd programs. To complete this, the one-year program is started to offer flexibility to students who already have completed their FYUP. This will help them enter the job market quickly.

The new programs will confirm that future teachers are well-prepared to meet the changing needs of the education system, as imagined in NEP 2020. Vandana Saxena, professor at the Department of Education, DU, says, “The one-year and two-year BEd programs proposed by the NCTE under the NEP framework must not be compared to their earlier counterparts before 2014.

The pre-2014 one-year BEd program was tough, demanding intense fieldwork combined with theoretical classes. Its short duration provides students with strong witness-based classroom practices. However, the two-year BEd program introduced after the 2014 notification doubled the duration without significantly enhancing the curriculum. This resulted in dissatisfaction among students as the extended timeframe often lacked meaningful enrichment.

The proposed one-year and two-year programs under NEP 2020 are different from the past models. “The program focused on research, equipping teachers to face real-time classroom challenges and syllabus structuring. The concept of teachers as researchers has gained prominence over the last decade and is now a core component of teacher education. The new curriculum aims to prepare teachers who can independently handle classroom issues and innovate teaching practices.

Eligible institutions

The one-year BEd will not be easily accessible; it will only be available at multidisciplinary institutions that offer the Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP). Arora says, “Currently, only 64 institutions are eligible to offer the new one-year program. An eight-member independent committee has been formed to maintain the parity and quality of the two programs. We are in the mode of consultation.

Very soon, we will be putting it in the public domain for 21-day feedback. We plan to open the portal in 2025 so that the courses can start in institutions in 2026. The NCTE has also clarified that one-year BEd programs will be given to only those institutions that offer multidisciplinary by 2028 and ITEP by 2030. At present, only 64 institutions that have ITEP can offer the one-year course.”

Probable challenges

Transitioning to the new programs will create challenges for institutions. Prof. Saxena says, “Planning and organizing the upcoming programs with faculty members possessing an inflexible mindset coupled with handling different curriculum structures at the same time and ensuring teacher educators are adequately nurtured to adopt NEP’s competency-based framework may be a challenge.

Institutions will need to focus on changing the teachers and encourage them to shift from traditional methods to evidence-based practices. To support this transition, the NCTE may need to plan workshops and training programs for teachers. However, it will continue to be a challenge to make educators attend such orientation programs.”