HRD Ministry To Make NCERT an Institute of National Significance

The National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), which has been assisting the central government and the state governments regarding the matters related to school education for over five decades, has approached the HRD Ministry demanding the status of an Institute of National Significance. If NCERT receives the aforementioned status, it would be able to give away degrees and begin different courses related to teaching.

According to the Director of NCERT Hrushikesh Senapaty, the council faced difficulties in issuing degrees and resuming different courses because some of its regional institutes were affiliated to different state universities. Furthermore, one of the regional institutes of NCERT could not bring semester system into practice because it did not match the rules of the university it was affiliated to.

It is because of the reasons mentioned above that NCERT has demanded a National status from the government. The HRD Minister for State Kushwaha has promised to look into the matter.

If granted the status of National Importance, NCERT has plans to start different specialized programmes which may range from education technology to textbooks and designing curriculum to imparting knowledge to special children.

Senapaty said that the proposal for providing NCERT with the Institute of National Significance was first furnished before the Executive Council through a committee headed by Govardhan Mehta. After receiving approval from the committee, the proposal was sent to the HRD Ministry a few months ago.

As of now, the ball is in HRD Ministry's court and conferring the status of National Significance on NCERT would bring a lot of revolutionary and much required changes in the field of education. And the contribution of the council is expected to be as unique as the ones it has been adding up throughout the last five decades.