Merger of different wings of school education into a single unit in Kerala will see reduced importance and gradual cessation of the Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.) course that trains teachers for imparting primary education.
The draft special rules prepared by a core committee of experts for the integration of primary, high school, and higher secondary school sections indicate that the D.El.Ed. course will cease to be of any benefit after 2030.
The committee report is unequivocal about raising the minimum qualifications required for teachers to ensure quality education. Accordingly, it proposes changing the minimum qualification for primary teachers from Plus Two to undergraduation.
At present, the minimum qualification for getting a primary school teacher appointment is Plus Two and D.Ed./D.El.Ed.
Henceforth, teachers for Classes V to VII will require an undergraduate (UG) degree. From June 1, 2030, teachers for Classes I to IV too will require undergraduation and a professional qualification. The relaxation till 2030 has been allowed since a large number of job aspirants with the D.El.Ed. qualification are awaiting appointments. This will provide them an opportunity to get jobs or opt for doing undergraduate courses, say the special rules.
The new norms will become applicable as soon as the special rules come into effect.
However, the draft does not make any mention of institutions offering D.El.Ed. courses. There are 202 institutions offering the D.El.Ed. course. Of these, 38 are in the government sector, 64 in government aided, and the remaining 100 in the unaided sector. The future of self-financing and at least some government aided institutions offering the D.El.Ed. course will become uncertain in the wake of undergraduation being made the minimum qualification at the primary level.
