Scrap EAPCET, English medium from Class 1 and no automatic promotions to teachers; Education Commission recommends

Hyderabad

The Telangana Education Commission has recommended sweeping reforms in the State’s education system, including the abolition of automatic promotions to teachers, introduction of English as the medium of instruction from nursery to university level, implementation of the three-language formula from Class I, and scrapping of EAPCET entrance examination.

The Commission submitted its report to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Thursday, proposing that the education policy be made entirely student-centric.

It recommended that teachers should not be granted automatic promotions, but based strictly on performance evaluation every five years, followed by a detailed report. Teachers should be given two years to improve and if there is no improvement, they may be removed from service.

However, the Commission clarified that these norms should apply only to newly-recruited teachers and not to those already in service.

The Commission recommended that English should be the medium of instruction from nursery to university level. It also proposed implementing the three-language formula from Class I, with Telugu or Urdu, English, and Hindi being taught. Pre-primary education (Nursery, LKG, UKG) should be integrated into primary schools, responding to strong demand from parents.

Scrap EAPCET

The Commission proposed conducting Board examinations only in Intermediate second year. It recommended scrapping the EAPCET examination and granting admissions to engineering, agriculture, and pharmacy courses based on Inter marks. It also suggested merging the SSC and Intermediate Boards. To improve academic standards, the minimum pass percentage should be increased to 45%.

The report also proposed scrapping the Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed) and restructuring the B.Ed programme into two streams – B.Ed (Primary) for Nursery to Class V and B.Ed (Secondary) for Classes 6th to 12th. Consultations with the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) were suggested for implementing these changes. It also recommended making 150 days of mandatory teaching practice in schools compulsory for B.Ed students.

The report also called for regulatory amendments to control IIT-JEE and NEET coaching centres and hostels. Regulations should cover fees, infrastructure, faculty standards, curriculum, student mental health, and advertisements.

The self-financing system in universities should be abolished. Courses currently offered under self-financing, where there is significant student demand, should be converted into regular courses. Student elections should be conducted in accordance with the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations.