Cabinet nod for teachers’ varsity in Delhi: CM Kejriwal

A proposal for the university had first been announced by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the 2021 Budget speech on March 9 this year.

The Delhi cabinet on Monday approved a proposal for the establishment of a teachers’ university in the city, with chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announcing that admissions to the new university -- to come up in west Delhi’s Bakkarwala village-- will start from the 2022-2023 academic year.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the institute will be a public university dedicated to preparing well-trained teachers equipped to take care of different classes. (HT Photo)

“Today, the Delhi cabinet approved the establishment of the Delhi Teachers’ University. The University will prepare highly qualified and well-trained teachers in Delhi itself. As per the commitment of the Delhi government, ‘Delhi Teachers University’ Bill 2021 will be placed before the Delhi Vidhan Sabha in the coming session,” said Kejriwal., addressing a press conference on Monday.

A proposal for the university had first been announced by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the 2021 Budget speech on March 9 this year.

On Monday, the chief minister said that the institute will be a public university dedicated to preparing well-trained teachers equipped to take care of different classes. This University will offer four-year integrated teacher education programmes like BA-BEd and BSc-BEd, among others, to help develop a new generation of teachers.

Kejriwal said that students of the university will be attached with Delhi government schools for the entire duration of the course. “The students of this University will be attached with Delhi government schools for the entire duration of their course to get hands-on experience with a strong emphasis on action-research. This will help students gain excellent practical knowledge in addition to theoretical knowledge.”

“The admission to the new university will start from the academic session 2022-23. ‘Delhi Teachers University’ will be a centre for excellence in teacher preparation -- both pre-service and in-service -- in the areas of education studies, leadership and policy. It will work towards bridging the gap between practice, research and policy in teacher preparation while constantly engaging with the dynamic concept and realities of quality education in the city,” he said.

“It will operate as a multidisciplinary academic centre that brings together varied stakeholders (practising and aspiring teachers, teacher educators, parents, administrators, policy planners, and content developers) in a dialogue through a range of programmes and activities,” he added.