Over 2.5K fail to take admission in DElEd after paying ₹1.34 crore as fees

Due to this apparent indifference on the part of the candidates, the state government has garnered ₹1.34 crore from these candidates, given that the fee is non-refundable, as authorities conceded.

PRAYAGRAJ: Despite a Supreme Court order invalidating BEd as eligibility for primary school teacher recruitment, 70,100 seats for the Diploma in Elementary Education (DElEd) Training of the 2023 session in Uttar Pradesh have been left vacant. Notably, 2,684 eligible candidates were allocated colleges after paying the requisite ₹5,000 fee each for participation in the college allotment process. Surprisingly, these candidates did not proceed with admissions, as confirmed by officials from the Prayagraj-headquartered Examination Regulatory Authority, U.P., which oversees DElEd course examinations and admissions in the state.

Prayagraj-headquartered Examination Regulatory Authority (HT Photo)

Due to this apparent indifference on the part of the candidates, the state government has garnered ₹1.34 crore from these candidates, given that the fee is non-refundable, as authorities conceded. A total of 3,36,187 candidates applied for admission, competing for 2,33,350 DElEd seats available in the state. This includes 10,600 seats in 67 District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) and 2,22,750 seats in 2,974 private colleges.

This marks the first instance in the last five years where such a substantial number of applicants entered the race for admissions. This is believed to be a direct outcome of the Supreme Court order dated August 11. Private DElEd colleges were particularly enthusiastic, anticipating the filling of a significant portion of their seats after years of observing a large number of vacancies amid diminishing interest among aspirants.

However, as of the November 20 deadline, only 1,63,250 candidates completed admissions. Officials and aspirants contend that the main reason for the low admissions is the irregular appointments of teachers in government-run primary and upper primary schools. They point out that there has been no new recruitment of government primary teachers in U.P. in the last five years.

DElEd is a two-year diploma program for candidates aspiring to become teachers in primary and upper primary schools. The interest in DElEd surged after the Supreme Court rejected the notification of the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) dated June 28, 2018. The court ruled that only DElEd-trained candidates can participate in the primary teachers’ recruitment process, excluding BEd degree holders. This decision led to renewed interest in DElEd among aspiring teachers, prompting colleges in Uttar Pradesh, after years of disinterest, to seek affiliation for offering DElEd courses from the 2024-25 academic session.

Allotment rule altered for DElEd this year

The Examination Regulatory Authority, U.P, has modified the rules of college allotment for the DElEd course this year. Previously, candidates were required to deposit an allotment fee of ₹10,000 directly to the assigned college. In contrast, this year, the Examination Regulatory Authority collected ₹5,000 directly from each candidate as the allotment fee, with the condition that the fee would not be refunded if the candidate chose not to take admission despite the college allotment.