Course for only teacher degree for post-2030 jobs scaled up without framework

Academics say a programme handbook cannot replace a curriculum framework and raise concerns about running ITEP courses

Thousands of students have enrolled in the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE)’s four-year Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP), set to become the only recognised qualification for school teacher recruitment from 2030, even as the course framework is yet to be released.

NCTE’s four-year Integrated Teacher Education Programme is set to become the only recognised qualification for school teacher recruitment from 2030.

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 mandated a new National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE) by 2021. The statutory regulator has, over six years, expanded ITEP from a pilot in 42 institutions with 3,950 seats in 2023-24 to over 300 institutions offering over 24,000 seats this academic year.

HT has learnt that a 12-member committee that the Union education ministry constituted to devise the framework submitted it in April 2024, but it remains under wraps. A ministry official admitted that running a programme before notifying its curriculum framework was “in principle wrong”. He added that the NCF-TE document would be released soon, even as the ministry maintained that ITEP is being implemented on the basis of a comprehensive “curriculum framework” in “full alignment with the vision and recommendations of NEP 2020.”

The ITEP course document is titled ‘curriculum framework’ though it doesn’t mention NCF-TE, which is considered the intellectual and pedagogical foundation of any teaching course.

“While preparing the curriculum framework for ITEP, the expert committees extensively referred to the UGC's National Higher Education Qualifications Framework (NHEQF) and National Credit Framework (NCrF) to ensure consistency with the national higher education architecture. The framework provides detailed guidance on the key design elements of ITEP, including its broad structure, stage-specific specialisations, eligibility requirements, institutions eligible to offer the programme, credit-hour requirements, programme learning outcomes, graduate attributes, and curricular thrusts. It also lays down the curricular structure, along with clear approaches to curriculum transaction, assessment, and evaluation to ensure quality and uniformity across institutions,” the ministry said in response to HT’s queries. However, it did not respond to HT’s queries on reasons behind delay in release of NCF-TE document.

The ITEP course document states that the programme seeks to “ensure that the prospective teachers get the highest quality education in content, pedagogy, values, and practice.”

The document, a copy of which HT has seen, provides for structure, syllabus, credits, and assessment method. It mentions paras from NEP 2020 but does not include para 5.28 related to the NCFTE.

NCTE chairperson Pankaj Arora defended the ITEP rollout, saying it is aligned with the NEP, the National Higher Education Qualifications Framework and the National Credit Framework. “It is wrong to say that the programme is without a curriculum framework. ITEP will be aligned with the NCFTE whenever it comes,” he said. He declined to comment on why the framework has not been notified.

Academics say a programme handbook cannot replace a curriculum framework and raise concerns about running ITEP courses. “A curriculum framework is like the Constitution, while syllabus and course structures are like Acts deriving their authority from it,” said IGNOU’s School of Education professor Ajay Singh. He said there is uncertainty about the competencies teachers should acquire, weak integration between disciplinary knowledge and pedagogy, and inadequate guidance for institutions shifting from the conventional Bachelor of Education (BEd) to a four-year integrated model in the absence of a framework.

An ITEP faculty member at Delhi University’s Mata Sundari College said the missing framework has practical consequences. “The school curriculum framework exists, but the teacher education framework does not. Without it, there is little clarity on how teacher preparation should differ across the Foundational, Preparatory, Middle, and Secondary stages,” the faculty member said, requesting anonymity.

The teacher questioned the pace of implementation. “ITEP was introduced as a pilot, but before its outcomes were studied or implementation challenges addressed, it was expanded across the country.” The teacher added that institutions continue to run the programme without dedicated faculty appointments, relying on existing teachers to absorb additional workloads.

Members involved in drafting the framework echoed the concerns. One member of the National Steering Committee for the Development of National Curriculum Frameworks described curriculum frameworks as the foundation of education reform. The member compared the NEP to “a beautiful car without four wheels” and said the curriculum framework, teacher education framework, textbooks, and examination reforms together form the pillars required to implement the policy. “Without these, the NEP cannot roll,” the member said.

Central University of Himachal Pradesh education department assistant professor Navneet Sharma said the delay has implications beyond pre-service teacher education. “The NCFTE is also meant to guide in-service teacher training. Without it, the bridge connecting the new school curriculum with teacher preparation is missing,” he said. States have largely continued relying on the NCFTE 2009 alongside programme-specific NEP orientations for training serving teachers.

The previous NCFTE, released in 2009, titled “Towards Preparing Professional and Humane Teachers”, remains the latest notified national framework for teacher education.

The new NCFTE was supposed to define the vision, competencies, stage-specific pedagogy and philosophy for preparing teachers for NEP’s new 5+3+3+4 school structure.

Experts warn of the risks of producing teachers ill-equipped for the ambitious education reforms in the absence of a framework. They say the absence is showing in classrooms as teachers have little guidance on stage-specific pedagogy. The experts point out that several institutions are running the programme without dedicated faculty, even as ITEP courses were expanded nationally before being independently evaluated. They argue that universities have limited flexibility to adapt the curriculum to local needs.

Teacher education has been described as one of the NEP’s biggest reforms. It mandated the NCTE to formulate a new NCFTE “by 2021”, after which teacher education curricula were to be aligned with it. The framework was expected to guide the four-year ITEP and the continuous professional development of millions of serving teachers as schools transition to the NEP’s Foundational (preschool-Class 2), Preparatory (Classes 3-5), Middle (Classes 6-8), and Secondary (Classes 9-12) stages.

Instead, NCTE first launched ITEP in 2023 and has expanded it every year. Students have to clear the National Testing Agency (NTA)’s National Common Entrance Test (NCET) after Class 12 for admission to four-year ITEP programmes, offering dual-major degrees.

The ITEP offers multiple entry and exit options. Students can exit after one year with a certificate, after two years with a diploma, after three years with a bachelor’s degree in their chosen major (minimum 120 credits), and after four years with a dual-major bachelor’s degree (minimum 160 credits, including 80 in education). Teacher appointments from the year 2030 onwards will be only through ITEP as per the NEP 2020.

NCTE is a statutory body mandated with the planned and coordinated development of pre-service and in-service teacher education across the country.