Six private BEd colleges in South Dinajpur miss varsity affiliation

Around 400 students who had taken admission to six private colleges in South Dinajpur district for the BEd (Bachelor of Education) course are worried as their colleges have failed to secure affiliation with Baba Saheb Ambedkar Education University in Calcutta.

In Bengal, BEd colleges are affiliated to this state-run university.

Altogether, there are 17 private BEd colleges in the district which have 1,200 seats.

“The admission process has ended in all these colleges for the current academic year. However, six of these colleges, where there are 400 seats, failed to match certain criteria stipulated by the varsity. That is why they have not been granted affiliation. Thus, students who took admission to these colleges are in uncertainty,” said a senior academic in the district.

Of the six BEd institutions, four are in Balurghat, Gangarampur, Buniadpur and Kushmandi and two in Tapan.

Many BEd aspirants are scared.

“I took admission to Balurghat Tebhaga Teachers’ Training College in Balurghat for the BEd course. I learnt that the college doesn’t have any affiliation. I am in a fix. Admissions in the current academic session has ended in all other colleges,”
said Rakhi Barman, a resident of Balurghat.

Student Gopal Sarkar is in a similar quandary.

“I had plans to sit for the exam to recruit teachers in state-aided high schools. But the college I took admission to doesn’t have an affiliation. The college authorities assured me that they would get an affiliation. I have no other option but to bank on them,” he said.

Sources said that across Bengal, affiliations of 253 colleges have been cancelled because they didn’t match the guidelines.

“It was made clear to the colleges that they should have enough teachers, follow a specific system in making certain payments and have appropriate mechanisms for firefighting in case of a blaze. These colleges couldn’t meet one or more guidelines,” said a source.

The heads of some of these colleges are angry.

“We have met all the guidelines. However, even then, our college has not been granted affiliation. We have information that some other colleges that didn’t meet the guidelines have received affiliation. We suspect some malpractice. We have decided to approach the judiciary,” said Akshay Kumar Barman, the owner of Balurghat Tebhaga Teachers’ Training College.

Pradip Sarkar, who owns the Buniadpur Teachers’ Training College, echoed Barman.

Sudip Ganguly, the secretary of the apex body of BEd colleges in the district, said they were helping these six colleges in every way they could.

“We are putting efforts to ensure that these institutions get the affiliations. It will largely help the students who have taken admission to these colleges,” he said.