Calicut University Vice Chancellor M.K. Jayaraj is expected to visit New Delhi soon to hold talks with the Chairperson, National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), in a bid to restore the recognition of 11 of its teacher education centres that offer B.Ed courses in the self-financing mode.
A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Syndicate held on Wednesday.
The centres which lost recognition are at Chakkittapara, Kallayi, and Vadakara in Kozhikode, Manjeri and Malappuram in Malappuram, Valappad, Aranattukara, and Chalakudy in Thrissur, Sulthan Bathery and Kaniyambetta in Wayanad, and Koduvayoor in Palakkad. Fifty students each are being admitted to these centres every year. The academic prospects of 550 students will be in peril if the recognition is not restored.
The NCTE’s appellate authority had dismissed the university’s appeal on April 18 against an order issued by its southern regional committee (SRC) in 2021 that cancelled the recognition of the centres with retrospective effect from 2015.
Losing approval
Earlier, the NCTE had withdrawn recognition for nine centres in 2014. The recognition of six of them, however, was restored by the appellate authority in 2015. The Kerala High Court allowed status quo to be maintained in the case of three other centres after the university filed a petition there. No action was taken against the remaining two centres. Thus, all the 11 centres resumed operations. All of them, however, lost their approval last year.
The university is now claiming that the NCTE appellate authority did not consider many facts while dismissing its appeal. It was not given enough time to explain its case as well. The university is also planning to seek legal recourse by approaching the High Court again.
One of the reasons for withdrawal of recognition last year was failure to submit a joint fixed deposit receipt (FDR) in the name of the institution and the NCTE. University officials claimed that though the university had presented FDR documents, they were not considered. Other facts such as availability of its own buildings, infrastructure, and qualified staff as per NCTE norms too were not taken into account.
