Delhi Teachers University Bill passed in Assembly

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Assembly on Tuesday passed a Bill for setting up a world-class teachers' training university that would offer programmes such as BA-BEd and BSc-BEd.

The Delhi Teachers' University Bill was introduced in the House on Monday by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia who also holds the education portfolio. During a discussion on the Bill, he said the university will set a benchmark in teachers' training and enhance the quality of education. Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said the Sports University unveiled in Meerut copied the model of the one announced in Delhi.

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"I felt very happy when the prime minister said students of the Sports University will gain degrees by excelling in sports and winning medals. This is exactly what we aimed and said while establishing a Sports University here in Delhi," Sisodia said in the House.

The Delhi Teachers' University will be spread over 12 acres of land in Bakkarwala village. It will have lecture halls, digital labs and a library with world-class facilities for 5000 students. Sisodia had on January 1 visited the under-construction campus of the university in Bakkarwala and asked officials to expedite the construction work so that the session could be started at the earliest. The university will offer teacher education programmes such as BA-BEd and BSc-BEd to create a new generation of teachers. Students of the university will collaborate with Delhi government schools for the duration of their courses and get hands-on experience with a focus on research.

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Participating in the discussion on the Bill, AAP MLA Atishi said the Delhi government has done remarkable work in the field of education and teachers training. It not only improved school infrastructure and education standards but also invested in the training of teachers, she said. "If we want to invest in teachers then we will have to invest in their training. The Delhi government increased the budget of teachers training from Rs 10 crore to Rs 100 crore. Teachers and principals of government schools were sent to best institutions such as IIMs in India and abroad for training purposes by the AAP government," Atishi said in the House.

She added that the Delhi Teachers' University will pave way for world-class training of teachers. Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, however, alleged that no new college has been opened by the AAP government in the last seven years. "The government earlier announced a Sports University and also appointed its vice-chancellor. But the university is nowhere to be found," Bidhuri said in the House. He alleged that many government schools do not have principals and the posts for teachers are lying vacant.