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NCTE offers ‘final opportunity’ for TEIs to shift to Integrated Teacher Education Programme

The rules under Appendix-13 of the NCTE Regulations, 2014, which allowed standalone colleges to run four-year integrated BEd courses, were scrapped in October 2021

Published on: Aug 30, 2025, 19:47:11 IST
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New Delhi: The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has announced a “final opportunity” for teacher education institutions (TEIs) running four-year integrated BA-BEd, BSc-BEd, and BCom-BEd programmes under the now-omitted Appendix-13 of its 2014 regulations to transition to the new Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP).

The council will open its online portal in mid-September to allow institutions to apply afresh for the transition into ITEP. (Representative photo)
The council will open its online portal in mid-September to allow institutions to apply afresh for the transition into ITEP. (Representative photo)

The council will open its online portal in mid-September to allow institutions to apply afresh for the transition into ITEP, submitting relevant documents, including proof of being a multidisciplinary institution.

The rules under Appendix-13 of the NCTE Regulations, 2014, which allowed standalone colleges to run four-year integrated BEd courses, were scrapped in October 2021. Institutions were then instructed to shift to the new ITEP under the 2021 regulations, with a transition deadline set for 2025–26. In July 2025, the NCTE extended this deadline by one year, permitting admissions under the old courses until 2025–26.

In line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, NCTE has directed standalone teacher education institutions (TEIs), which offer only teacher education courses, to transform into multidisciplinary higher education institutions (HEIs).

In guidelines issued on May 15, NCTE outlined three pathways for standalone TEIs to expand beyond their single-discipline status and integrate with broader academic streams: start at least two new undergraduate programmes; merge with an existing multidisciplinary Higher Education Institution (HEI); or collaborate with one within a 10 km radius. All standalone TEIs, approximately 15,000 across India, must become multidisciplinary HEIs by 2030 as envisioned in NEP 2020.

“We offer UG and PG courses in arts, science, commerce, journalism and pharmacy and other vocational courses at SD College, Barnala running since 1956 and offers B.Ed and M.Ed courses in its campus under S.D. College of Education. Hence, we qualify as a multidisciplinary institution. In June 2025, we applied to NCTE for permission to start ITEP courses and submitted the required documents along with fees of about 1.77 lakh. During scrutiny, NCTE officials pointed out 15 deficiencies in our papers, which we will soon rectify by uploading the revised documents,” principal of S.D. College of Education in Barnala (affiliated to Punjabi University) Tapan Kumar Sahu said.

Also Read: NCTE rules out four-level tests for teachers under CTET before 2027

At its 67th general body meeting on July 28, 2025, NCTE decided to give a “final opportunity” to all TEIs running four-year integrated BA-BEd and BSc-BEd programmes — including those whose earlier applications were rejected — to reapply online for transition to ITEP.

“Therefore, all the institutions concerned are hereby informed and advised to be in readiness to apply afresh with all the required relevant papers or documents, including proof of being a multidisciplinary institution, as per guidelines for transforming NCTE-recognized standalone TEIs into multidisciplinary HEIs, available on the NCTE website. This shall be the final opportunity for institutions offering 4-year Integrated BA-BEd or BSc-BEd programmes to transition into the four-year ITEP,” a notice issued by NCTE member secretary Abhilasha Jha Misra on August 25 said. The notice was uploaded on the NCTE website on Saturday.

The NCTE has clarified that TEIs failing to apply for transition will not be allowed to admit students in BA-BEd, BSc-BEd, and BCom-BEd programmes once the new academic session begins in 2026–27.

The ITEP, launched in 2023–24 in 57 TEIs, has expanded to 19 central universities, 21 state universities, 7 National Institutes of Technology (NITs), 3 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), and 14 colleges by 2025-26, with admissions through a national-level entrance exam conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). In its Draft NCTE (Recognition Norms and Procedure) Regulations, 2025, the council also announced four specialised ITEP programmes — ITEP Yoga, Physical Education, Sanskrit Education, and Art Education — which will be offered from the 2026-27 academic session, pending approval of the draft rules.

  • Sanjay Maurya
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Sanjay Maurya

    Sanjay Maurya is a Principal Correspondent with Hindustan Times, where he covers education, with a focus on school and higher education, competitive examinations, education policy and governance. Working as part of the National Bureau, he is based in New Delhi and reports on the Ministry of Education and covers various statutory bodies like UGC, AICTE and NCTE and autonomous bodies like CBSE and NCERT. His reporting also tracks the implementation of key government reforms and policies from school education to higher education including in IITs, NITs, IIMs, central and state universities, and their impact on students and educational institutions. His reporting on the irregularities and rushed implementation of CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for evaluation of Class 12 board exams 2026, triggered administrative action, leading to the transfer of the board's two senior-most officials and the constitution of a committee to probe alleged irregularities in procurement process of the system. He joined Hindustan Times in December 2024. Prior to that, he had a three-year stint at Careers360, where he reported on school and higher education, entrance examinations, admissions, rankings and various education policies involving universities and professional education bodies. Over the years, Maurya has reported extensively on major developments in India's education sector, including the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA) following the NEET-UG 2024 controversy, changes in school education, higher education regulation, and the evolution of entrance examinations such as NEET, JEE and CUET. He regularly produces data-driven and explanatory stories based on government documents, parliamentary proceedings, court records and official data. His focus remains on helping readers understand how education policies and institutional decisions affect millions of students, teachers and educational institutions across the country.Read More

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