Bridge course for serving primary teachers launched

Union education minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday launched a six-month bridge course in Primary Teacher Education (PTE) for in-service primary school teachers holding a Bachelor of Education (B

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Union education minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday launched a six-month bridge course in Primary Teacher Education (PTE) for in-service primary school teachers holding a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degree, giving them a “one-time opportunity” to retain eligibility to teach Classes 1 to 5 in line with the Supreme Court’s April 2024 directions.

Launched two years after the apex court’s directions, the course is designed by the teachers education regulator National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) and will be offered through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) in online mode. Comprising six theory subjects and a school-based practicum, the course provides a “robust framework to connect educational theory with classroom practice” and “will strengthen primary-stage pedagogical competencies through academic learning” while enabling teachers to “cater to the diverse learning needs of young children,” the ministry of education said in a statement on Thursday.

The move follows the Supreme Court’s April 8, 2024 judgment which ordered NCTE to devise a bridge course for teachers appointed at the primary level with a B.Ed. degree but without a Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.) qualification. The course is meant for teachers appointed between June 28, 2018 and August 11, 2023 under an NCTE notification issued in 2018.

The bridge course addresses a long-running dispute over the qualifications required for primary school teachers. After clearing the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET), a two-year D.El.Ed. course pursued after Class 12 qualifies a candidate to teach Classes 1 to 5, while a two-year B.Ed. degree pursued after graduation is designed to prepare teachers for Classes 6 to 12. The eligibility window — June 28, 2018 to August 11, 2023 — corresponds to the period during which an NCTE notification allowed B.Ed. degree holders to be appointed as primary teachers. June 28, 2018 was the date on which NCTE issued the notification, while August 11, 2023 was the date on which the Supreme Court struck it down, holding that a B.Ed. degree could not be treated as an equivalent qualification for primary teachers and observing that the pedagogical training required for Classes 1 to 5 differs from that needed for higher classes.

The data available on the NIOS bridge course portal show that of 67,529 registrations received, but only 66,312 applications were approved by state nodal officers after document verification including more than half – 33,755– from Uttar Pradesh.

The ministry said the course would be delivered through the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode and include contact programmes, school-based practicum, video tutorials and e-learning materials. While instruction will be in Hindi and English, candidates can write the theory examination in any of the 22 scheduled languages.

According to an August 2025 NIOS notification, in-service teachers availing the “one-time opportunity” must “complete the course commencement of course of NIOS” and failure to do so “will invalidate their appointment.” It added that the qualification would only protect existing employment and “will not be valid for those teachers seeking subsequent employment as primary teachers”.

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  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