Guwahati, March 10 -- Meghalaya has requested an exemption from the National Council for Teacher Education's (NCTE) regulations to expand the availability of spots in teacher training programs like B.Ed. and D.El.Ed.

Education Minister Rakkam A. Sangma said, "We have reached out to NCTE, asking for an exemption from some criteria to increase the intake for B.Ed. and D.El.Ed. courses."

He explained that Meghalaya currently offers only 200 spots for D.El.Ed. training because of a shortage of training facilities.

"We provide short-term training to teachers, but the NCTE does not recognize these programs," Sangma noted.

He highlighted the challenge of having 18,000 untrained teachers in the state.

"Many of these teachers complete practic...