Primary teachers' training institutes asked to adhere to admission norms

KOLKATA: The West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) on Tuesday issued clear instructions to the PTTIs (Primary Teachers Training Institutes) to conduct the admission process in strict adherence to the regulations of the state government.

There are 656 PTTI institutes across the state.

The Board will take all possible measures to ensure 100 per cent transparency during the conduct of the examination.

"We have asked the PTTIs to conduct admission at the right time which will ensure the holding of examinations and publication of results in proper time. The Board has come across several candidates who have been admitted at PTTIs not having registration of the Board," president of WBBPE Goutam Pal said after holding a meeting with PTTIs on Tuesday.

According to a senior Board official, delay in the examination process has resulted due to a section of these institutes flouting the admission norms

of the Board.

"We open an online portal and find that there has been a lesser number of admissions during that time. Even after we extend the online window for admission, seats remain vacant. If the process of admission is in online mode, registration is awarded by the Board

immediately.

However, some institutes accept offline applications and then admit students resulting in their registration remaining pending," a senior official of the Board said.

Pal has asked all the institutes who have admitted students in offline mode to apply with details with the Board so that the matter can be discussed in the ad-hoc committee of the Board and then forwarded to the Education department for their nod regarding registration.

Reacting to allegations of a section of institutes admitting students in lieu of money, Pal said that a probe will be initiated in case such irregularities come before the Board's notice.

"If irregularities are revealed during the probe, we will take strong action," Pal said.

"We will have observers for all centres and the question papers' seal will be opened some minutes before the examination in presence of the observers and distributed among the examinees. There will be transparency in the entire process," a senior Board official said.