Imphal, October 04: The demand for shifting District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) to another place from its present location inside the campus of DM College is likely to hamper the process of getting recognition of the National Council of Teachers' Education (NCTE).

Conveying this to The Sangai Express an official source from DIET said formerly set up as Basic Training College (BTC) and Basic Training Institute (BTI), the institute was upgraded to DIET under a special scheme of the Ministry of Human Resource Department in 1991.For successful implementation of the scheme, branches of the DIET centre have also been subsequently established in phase-wise manner in other districts of the State.

Since the establishment of the DIET centre, pre-service and in-service training for teachers are being imparted at the undergraduate level.

The source went on to inform that duration of the scheme is for five years and during this period the Ministry has to meet all the required expenses of running the centre.

However, after the stipulated five year, it has to be the responsibility of the State Government to look after the cost.

Though the period of the scheme officially expired in 2002, the State Government signed an MoU with the Union Ministry to extent the scheme.

In accordance to the MoU, the Ministry has to provide salary of the staff and non-teaching staff while infrastructural requirements are to be looked after by the State Govt.However, inspite of the Ministry providing monthly salary of teaching and nonteaching staff regularly, the State Government has not done anything to improve infrastructures of the centre.

In fact the existing DIET centre does not have any of the infrastructures required as per guidelines of the scheme.

The source further disclosed that without the recognition of the National Council of Teachers' Education, the certificates issued from the existing DIET centres in the State would not be applicable in any of the other institutes.

So efforts are being made for the last many years to get the recognition.

For according the recognition, it is essential to have atleast 1500 sq metre of land of its own and proper class rooms, building and playground.

Unfortunately, the DIET centre located inside DM College Campus which was the first DIET centre set up in the State still do not have adequate land and building of its own.

Besides, there is no micro teaching rooms, separate rooms for each of the seven DIET branches, science lab, educational psychology lab apart from lacking educational technology, hall for physical education and playground.

Inspite of that, official team of NCTE had come for inspection of the centre twice in connection with granting the recognition.

On advice of the Government, the inspection team had even been shown the existing land of DM College of Commerce on whose basis provisional recognition has been granted.

For granting the final recognition, another official NETC team is scheduled to arrive in November.

At such a critical juncture when directive have been given for shifting the DIET centre from DM College campus, the silence of the State Govt has caused uneasiness and worry among the officials of the DIET centre, the source added.

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