MUMBAI, June 10 -- The future of thousands of Bachelor in Education (BEd) aspirants in the state has been thrown into uncertainty after the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) decided to cancel the recognition of 295 BEd colleges in the state. This move is part of a nationwide evaluation of teacher education institutions. It could lead to a reduction of more than 16,000 seats in Maharashtra and severely impact admissions for 2025-26. The NCTE initiated a scrutiny process last month following concerns over the functioning and quality of BEd colleges across the country. Many institutions reportedly failed to submit the required evaluation reports by the May 31 deadline. As a result, they have lost their recognition and are not permitted to admit students from the upcoming academic year. The higher and technical education department has expressed concerns about how this would impact students. With the admission season approaching, they would scramble for the limited seats in the remaining institutions. The principal of a BEd college in the city said, "This year, there are many changes proposed in the BEd education, which creates chaos among students and colleges. Early this year, the NCTE also made changes to the structure of teacher education programs. It initially announced that the existing four-year integrated BA/BSc-BEd course would be discontinued from 2025-26 and replaced with a new four-year Integrated Teacher Education Programme." Following protests from various stakeholders, the NCTE revised its decision and postponed the discontinuation from next year. "While the reinstatement of the integrated course admission process brings temporary relief, the larger issue of cancelled college recognitions continues to cast a shadow on the future of B.Ed aspirants in the state," said another principal. Sources from the higher and technical education department said the government plans to intervene and discuss the issue with NCTE officials within the next two days....