B. Ed. concern over delay in completing admission

[dwarakesh]

TIRUNELVELI: The delay in completing the admission process for B. Ed. programme of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University's Directorate of Distance and Continuing Education for the academic year 2008-09 and last minute additions to admission norms after the entrance examination caused concern among aspirants .

When the MSU decided to offer the programme through its DD and CE wing for the benefit of teachers working in recognised schools, the National Council for Teacher Education team that visited the university expressed its displeasure at the poor infrastructure created for the purpose and asked the officials concerned to take corrective measures immediately. When the DD and CE, after carrying out the "corrective measures suggested by the NCTE team," notified that graduate teachers working with recognised schools with a minimum of two years teaching experience could apply for the B. Ed. course, it evoked response from over 1,800 candidates though it had been proposed to admit only 500.

The candidates were asked to write a two-hour objective-type entrance examination on December 28, as it was informed that admission would be based on the entrance examination score.

But a recent communication from the DD and CE to the candidates said that "due weightage" would be given for the teaching experience and also higher educational qualification .

" When Tamil University, Thanjavur, launched the B. Ed. course, it unambiguously stated that admission would be based only on qualification and experience. However, the MSU is creating confusion in the B. Ed. admission process in the last minute by sending letters to the candidates. Had they clearly announced earlier that due weightage would be given for higher educational qualification and teaching experience, most of us would not have spent Rs. 600 for buying the application even as other universities are selling B. Ed. applications for Rs. 500," said D. Mary, a candidate. Most of the candidates are apprehensive that there would be "significant dilution" in the quality of the course as an academic year programme (2008 – 2009) was yet to commence even after January 18.

The Vice-Chancellor, R.T. Sabapathy Mohan, said the university, with the objective of equipping the working teachers with higher educational qualification, had decided to introduce B. Ed. degree programme.

"We can't pay attention to these minor issues being raised by a handful of people while around 2,000 candidates took the entrance examination. The university has got every right to amend new admission norms at any time and nobody can question it," he said.

Though the prospectus says that the programme is for academic year 2008 – 2009, the Vice-Chancellor claimed that the MSU had initiated the admission exercise for the academic year 2009 – 2010.

Source: The Hindu