Patna: BEd students to do school internship in virtual mode

PATNA: BEd students of Patna University (PU) of the last two academic sessions (2019-21 and 2020-22) would complete their mandatory school internship through the medium of simulated teaching from their respective institutions. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the PU education faculty held here on Sunday under the presidentship of faculty dean Lalit Kumar.
Addressing the meeting, Patna Training College principal Ashutosh Kumar said that all the schools of the state are closed owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and under the existing circumstances, it is not possible for BEd students to do their school internship of four months’ duration in face-to-face mode. But, as per the provisions of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), no student can take the BEd examination without completing the mandatory school internship. He further pointed out that BEd students of PU have already done internships in face-to-face mode for one month just before the closure of colleges following the imposition of statewide lockdown.
It was unanimously decided in the meeting that the internship for the remaining period of three months should be done through a simulated teaching medium from their own institutions so that they may be able to appear at the university examination.
The meeting expressed its concern over the recent action of BRA Bihar University (BRABU) in allowing its 12,000 students to fill up their BEd examination forms without completing their mandatory school internship. The fate of all these students hangs in a balance, the faculty observed.
Prominent among those who attended the meeting included BRABU’s education department head A R Khan, Darbhanga-based GB Teachers’ Training College principal Sanjeev Kumar, Biharsharif-based Nalanda College education department head Dhruv Kumar and Ranchi Women’s College teacher Sachin Kumar.