Drop in BEd applications: Is the youth losing interest in teaching profession?

According to Bundelkhand University vice-chancellor Professor Mukesh Pandey, “The number depends on the candidate’s interest.”

LUCKNOW A massive drop in the number of candidates who have registered for the upcoming joint BEd entrance exam of the Bundelkhand University has raised questions on the popularity of teaching as a profession. While 6.67 lakh candidates had appeared for the BEd entrance exam at the Jhansi-based varsity in 2022, only 4.72 lakh aspirants applied for the exam this time -- resulting in a drop of 1.914 lakh candidates. The number of seats on offer are 2.53 lakh this time.

Officials also acknowledge the supposed lack of interest towards teaching profession. (Representational photo)

According to Bundelkhand University vice-chancellor Professor Mukesh Pandey, “The number depends on the candidate’s interest. Maybe this year, the candidates are less interested in the teaching profession. Already the ratio is 1:2 given the number of candidates who applied and the number of seats available.”

However, this data alone is not sufficient to draw conclusions. Officials say that the supposed lack of interest towards teaching profession could be due to the fact that the state government has already filled a number of vacant posts of teachers and at present, there is no major announcement of teacher’s recruitment on the anvil. Hence, the youth may be taking interest in other sectors.

Exam Preparations

The state government has issued guidelines for BEd entrance exam. The entrance exam will be held under live CCTV camera surveillance. Bundelkhand University’s registrar, Vinay Kumar Singh, claimed that they made all arrangements for the examinations -- including the biometrics and face recognition system for registering the attendance of all the candidates in both the shifts.

Also, live CCTV surveillance has been provided in all centres across the state, which has been operationalised by the university from June 12. The city in-charge will be responsible for handling all examination-related confidential material (including OMR sheets and papers) from depositing it in the district treasury to delivering it to the examination centre.

Apart from ensuring the distribution and collection of question booklets and OMR sheets, inspection during the examination will also be the responsibility of the city magistrate.

Year         No of candidates (in lakhs)

2023         4.72

2022         6.67

2021         5.91

2020         4.31

2019         6.09