Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar, as part of its new initiative towards creating outstanding teachers, has introduced a four-year B.Sc-B.Ed Integrated Teacher Education Program (ITEP) from the 2023-24 academic session. The initial batch of fifty students from various Indian states attended the classes. The National Testing Agency (NTA) administered the National Common Entrance Test (NCET), which was used to select the students. One of the two IITs to launch the programme this year is IIT Bhubaneswar; the other is IIT Kharagpur. The Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Economics, along with the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.), has been given by the institute. Instead of the five years that the present B.Ed curriculum requires, students enrolled in this programme would finish their studies in four years, according to a media release from IIT Bhubaneswar.
The distinctive qualities were emphasised by IIT Bhubaneswar director Prof. Shreepad Karmalkar and specialists Prof. Harish Chandra Singh Rathore, a former vice-chancellor of the Central University of Bihar, and Prof. Prakash Chandra Agarwal, principal of the Regional Institute of Education, Bhubaneswar. According to Prof. Karmalkar, ITEP students are the first group to be given the opportunity to complete their education in an active learning setting that fosters the critical thinking, communication, and teamwork skills necessary for success in any line of work. He added that although there is no reservation for women in the programme, the majority of ITEP students are female.
While the ITEP is designed to produce exceptional instructors, students can pursue careers in research and development as well. Students who successfully complete this course will have the necessary knowledge, academic credits, and degree to continue their studies at any international university. The National Council for Teacher Education launched the ITEP programme to guarantee that exceptional students join the teaching profession at the school level.
