Andhra Pradesh High Court Orders Investigation into Private BEd Colleges for NCTE Violations, ETEducation

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh High Court directed National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), state university authorities and the higher education department to examine complaints regarding private BEd colleges flouting statutory norms and take appropriate action in accordance with law.S Amruth Kumar and Gaddala Bharath Simha, research scholars from Yogi Vemana University, moved the high court with a PIL contending that several private BEd colleges operating under the jurisdiction of Yogi Vemana University, Andhra Kesari University and Rayalaseema University are functioning in gross violation of NCTE regulations.The counsel for the petitioners argued that many of these institutions lack mandatory basic infrastructure like their own buildings and requisite qualified teaching and non-teaching faculty. Despite submitting formal representations highlighting these shortcomings, the authorities failed to initiate an inquiry or take corrective steps, he argued, and sought directions for a joint inspection by NCTE, universities and state government.Appearing on behalf of the higher education department, government pleader Gurram Ramachandra Rao submitted that granting permission to BEd colleges falls entirely within the regulatory purview of NCTE. He clarified that universities grant affiliations only after verifying the infrastructure following approvals granted by the council. He said the representation given by the petitioners lacks specific details on violations.Considering the submissions on both sides, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Lisa Gill and Justice Challa Gunaranjan directed the authorities concerned to consider the representation given by the petitioners and initiate action in case of violations.