Approval of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) is still elusive for the courses run by the Physical Education Department of the University of Calicut.
According to sources, courses such as B.P.Ed, M.P.Ed, four-year integrated B.P.Ed, and Ph.D programmes do not have recognition since 2014. The integrated course, launched seven years ago, is being run only on the university campus and at a centre in Kozhikode.
It has been claimed that the department does not have enough permanent employees and good infrastructure as per NCTE guidelines. At present, eight staff posts and one post of a physiotherapist is vacant. Students claim that laboratory facilities too are absent. Since the courses are not recognised, they do not have the university’s affiliation. Thus, the Pareeksha Bhavan, the examination wing of the university, is reportedly unwilling to hold exams. The lack of recognition is affecting the job prospects of the students too. In the meantime, physical fitness tests were reportedly being held ahead of admissions to the B.P.Ed course and the integrated courses.
This led to a group of students holding a protest outside the administration block on Monday, pointing out that the fourth year exams of B.P.Ed integrated course and the fourth semester exams of the postgraduate course had not been held for long. They claimed that the courses were completed five months ago. The authorities later held discussions with them and promised to hold the exams by November 15. They also promised the students to take steps to get back the NCTE recognition at the earliest.
