The standard of education is abysmally poor in this rich state, and the reasons are not hard to find. Take a look at the colleges training teachers of Punjab, and you won’t have to look any further.

None of the four government BEd colleges in the state have principals who fulfill the eligibility criterion as prescribed by the National Council for Teachers’ Education (NCTE). While the government colleges are running with impunity, private colleges without qualified principals face huge fines from universities.

As per the NCTE guidelines, a BEd college principal should have degrees in BEd, MEd, MPhil and PhD, along with 10 years teaching experience, including five years in a BEd college.

But records revealed that none of the present principals of the four BEd government colleges has a degree in MEd.

While there are four government BEd colleges — in Jalandhar, Patiala, Faridkot and Malerkotla — there are 52 colleges affiliated to GNDU, including one government, six government-aided and 45 private or self-financed. Nearly 10 private colleges have principals who have an MEd degree and the others are being fined Rs 50,000 per month by GNDU.

When asked about the lack of desired qualification, principal of Government College of Education, Ladowali Road, Jalandhar, Dr Sushma Soni said: “The promotions are done by the government, so the seniormost person, with or without MEd, can become a principal. Moreover, in government BEd colleges, the post of principal is only administrative.”

Dr Amit Kauts, Dean, Faculty of Education, Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), to which the Jalandhar college is affiliated, said, “MEd is mandatory even though the post of principal is administrative, because administration in BEd college means academic administration and rules should be followed.”

Former principal of a BEd college and ex-dean of GNDU Dr Dev Raj Vij said: “Masters in education is a must and the government should follow the rules while appointing principals.” A senior education official in Patiala also advocated a fine for the erring colleges.

Recently-retired DPI (College) Dr Kanwarjit Singh said, “Seniority is followed in government colleges, but NCTE guidelines should not be ignored. The council had given some relaxation, which includes that if a person fulfills all other qualifications but has not cleared the National Entrance Test (NET), he/she could be considered for the post.”

He added that principals in majority of the government BEd colleges were without an MEd degree.