Odisha seeks enhancing TTI capacity

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha government today asked the Centre to enhance the capacity of teachers training institutes in the state as it is facing acute shortage of trained teachers for proper implementation of Right to Education Act.

"Keeping in view the urgency of the matter and considering the initiatives taken by the state government, I seek your personal intervention to enhance the intake capacity of TTIs," Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told Union Minister of Human Resource Development M M Pallam Raju in a letter.

The government proposal for increasing TTI capacity is pending with the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE).

Patnaik said though the state government had requested the union HRD Ministry and NCTE in January for extending the time for submission of hard copies of application forms in this regard, it was yet to get any response.

"The state government has also given a commitment to make additional investment in infrastructure and recruitment of teachers for the proposed increase in intake," the letter said.

The chief minister said as per the attrition rate calculated by NCTE, the state requires 5,000 trained teachers per year.

Presently there are 73 government TTIs having intake capacity of 4,390 (1,240 seats at secondary level and 3,150 seats at elementary level) which are imparting B Ed and other courses.