State government discontinues BEd integrated course from 2025-26

MUMBAI: In line with recommendations of National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), the state government has decided to discontinue the four-year BA/BSc-BEd (Integrated) course from the academic year 2025-26. Instead, the Integrated Teacher Education Program (ITEP) will be implemented as the new four-year teacher training course.

With this, the state-level entrance test for the discontinued BA/BSc-BEd course has been cancelled, stated a notification by the Maharashtra State Common Entrance Test Cell. Those who had already registered for the examination through the State CET cell will receive a refund of the registration fees in the bank account used for the payment.

Candidates aspiring to enrol in the ITEP course will now have to appear for the National Common Entrance Test (NCET) conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). The last date to submit online applications for the NCET exam is March 16. Aspirants can register at www.nta.ac.in or https://exams.nta.ac.in/NCET. The ITEP entrance exam will be conducted on April 29 by the NTA.

An aspirant pointed out that the preparation for national level exam is different than the state level entrance exam. “Now we have to begin preparation for the national level curriculum,” said a Class 12 student, taking examination in the science stream who wants to become a teacher.

Last month, the NCTE informed all colleges about the discontinuation of the BA/BSc-BEd (Integrated) course and instructed them to apply for implementing the ITEP program. The Department of Higher and Technical Education approved this transition on March 4, and are now shifting the admission process from the CET Cell to the NCET under NTA. Despite the shift to ITEP, many college administrations remain unclear about how this will impact their institutions. A principal from a city-based BEd college stated, “We have not received any official communication on this. We need clarity on whether the integrated course introduced last year will now be converted into the new ITEP.”

The state introduced integrated teacher education courses in 2021, with 453 students enrolling in the program last year.