India, March 19 -- What joy can it possibly bring anyone to stop a successful course? This summer, the B.El.Ed. (Bachelor of Elementary Education) programme of Delhi University will admit students for the last time. It is not the first time that the B.El.Ed course is facing a threat, but now its closure seems imminent. Earlier threats were of a localised nature. But now the highest regulatory body, the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) has announced the end of B.El.Ed. in 2026. NCTE was set up to ensure quality standards in the training of schoolteachers. It is ironical that NCTE wants to close a course that principals of Delhi have praised over the years.

It was imagined by a group of scholars in the early 1990s. Inspiration ...