NCTE Sets Up Two Expert Panels to Make ITEP Graduates Eligible for CTET, STET and Teacher Recruitment Before First Batch Graduates in 2027

Students enrolled in India’s new four-year Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP) are a step closer to a clear route into classrooms. The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has constituted two expert committees to rework teacher recruitment rules and the eligibility guidelines for the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) and State Teacher Eligibility Tests (STET), so that ITEP graduates can apply for school teaching posts, Hindustan Times reported on 31 October 2026, citing NCTE orders.

The timing matters. ITEP was launched in the 2023-24 session, and its first batch is expected to graduate in May-June 2027. While NCTE recognises ITEP as a teacher education programme, the current recruitment regulations and TET guidelines do not explicitly list it as a qualifying degree. Until amendments are notified, ITEP graduates cannot use the degree to sit CTET or STET or to apply for covered teaching posts. An NCTE official told the paper that the changes are expected to be in place before the first batch graduates.

Two committees, two jobs

• Recruitment qualifications: A 12-member committee, set up through an 8 October order and chaired by former IAS officer Prof Nirmaljeet Singh Kalsi, is reviewing NCTE’s 2014 regulations on minimum qualifications for schoolteacher recruitment. It has been asked to draft an amendment adding ITEP as a minimum qualification within 30 days. Members include representatives of the Department of School Education and Literacy, CBSE, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, the Rehabilitation Council of India and Haryana SCERT, along with Delhi University academics.
• TET eligibility: A 10-member committee, formed through a 12 October order and chaired by retired Delhi University professor Chand Kiran Saluja, is reviewing CTET and STET guidelines for primary and upper-primary levels. It includes NCERT, DoSEL, CBSE, KVS and NVS representatives and was asked to submit its recommendations and proposed amendments by 31 October 2026.

Both panels can consult subject experts, ministries, regulators, examination agencies, higher education institutions, school boards, and states and Union Territories.

Adding a pathway, not replacing one

The proposed changes will add ITEP to the list of recognised qualifications rather than displace existing routes such as the two-year Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed), the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed), the four-year Bachelor of Elementary Education (B.El.Ed) and integrated B.A.Ed/B.Sc.Ed programmes. Clearing the relevant TET remains mandatory for appointment to covered posts.

According to NCTE’s 12 October order, 409 higher education institutions are recognised to offer ITEP, with a combined intake of 38,850 students across 777 units.

Why it matters for NEP 2020

ITEP is designed to prepare teachers for the four stages of the 5+3+3+4 school structure under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020: foundational, preparatory, middle and secondary. NEP envisages the four-year integrated degree becoming the minimum qualification for schoolteachers by 2030, replacing the conventional route of a bachelor’s degree followed by a two-year B.Ed.

Without matching changes to recruitment and eligibility rules, that vision would leave the very first ITEP cohort with a recognised degree but no clear way to teach. Aligning the rules now gives states, school systems and teacher education institutions time to plan hiring, counselling and admissions around the new programme, and signals to aspiring teachers that the integrated route is a credible career pathway.