BED vs BTC: Supreme Court Big Decision, Only BTC Candidates Eligible for Primary Teacher

BED vs BTC: Today, the Supreme Court has given thumbs up to the candidates of BTA for Level-1 teaching roles and upheld the decision of the High Court by rejecting the SLP of the NCPE and the Central Government.  However, it’s crucial to highlight that Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degrees are not accepted for teaching 1st to 5th-grade classes.

The recent decision of the Supreme Court has hit hard on B.Ed candidates all over the country. After this decision of the Supreme Court, now only BTC candidates Level-1 teachers will be eligible for recruitment. This decision of the Supreme Court will affect not only Rajasthan but B.Ed and BTC candidates of the whole country.    

The division bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul of the Supreme Court has given this decision, on 11 August 2023, while hearing the petitions of Mukesh Kumar and others, including the SLP of the NCPE and the Central Government. 

The Supreme Court accepted the Rajasthan High Court’s decision after going through to the whole situation. The Rajasthan High Court had cancelled the notification that approved B.Ed. candidates. The court also rejected the Special Leave Petition (SLP) from NCPE and the Central Government.

It is noteworthy that all the candidates who have done B.Ed are now out of the claim to become teachers in primary schools and they will not be able to become teachers in primary schools, now in the coming time this decision will be binding on all states and citizens. BTC candidates will now be able to become teachers in primary schools while those with B.Ed will be out of the race for level-1 recruitment.  

 This controversy took place in 2018 when NCTE released a notice for B.Ed. degree holders. They were considered eligible for REET Level  Exam. In response to this announcement, BSTC candidates approached the Rajasthan High Court, where the High Court also considered BTC Diploma holders eligible for Level-1, now the Supreme Court has also agreed to this decision of the High Court.