College of Teacher Education (CTE) had been upgraded to an Institute of Advanced Study in Education (IASE) by the Teacher Education Approval Board (TEAB) of the Ministry of Human Resources Development, New Delhi in September 2005. The actual implementation and concretization of the Upgradation has however followed a long and arduous route due to the need for complying and fulfilling the strict rigidity of the Norms and Regulations set by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) which is the Statutory Authority controlling Teacher Education in the Country. In addition to the Letter of Formal Recognition of NCTE, Provisional Affiliation of Mizoram University is mandatory which requires that CTE meets the Standards and Specifications laid down by the MZU for according Affiliation. Working through all these hurdles, Letter of Formal Recognition was finally received in 12th March, 2012 from NCTE and Provisional Affiliation from MZU on 11th June, 2012.
It is indeed a privilege and honour for Mizoram to be among the States in India to have an extremely prestigious Institute. It is one among the 3 IASEs in the North East Region. Only 1 IASE is allowed per 20 Districts and Mizoram had been permitted an IASE because it has only 1 Secondary Teacher Education Institute (CTE) till date. IASE will perform the dual function of CTE.
In addition to the regular B.Ed programme, M.Ed Course will be started from 1st August, 2012, after which M.Phil and Ph.D Programmes are eventually expected to be activated. The over-all roles and functions of IASE are as follows:
1.) To integrate teacher education with overall education development in the State; 2.) Expanding institutional capacity to provide in-service training for secondary school teachers in light of RSMA; 3.) To develop and put in place a mechanism to monitor the implementation of the Scheme on various physical and financial parameters with pre-defined outcomes for improving the overall quality of various activities of teacher education institutions; 4.) Preparation of teacher educators for all levels of school education; 5.) Capacity building of elementary and secondary teacher educators; 6.) Ensuring that the spirit of the ideas mentioned in NCFTE and NCF is reflected in pre-service and in-service programs offered by the IASEs; 7.) Promoting research to improve quality of education; 8.) Working on providing quality teaching and reading material for teachers at the secondary level; 9.) Providing a forum for DIET’s to share, learn and grow; 10.) Establishing linkages between higher education institutes and SCERTs/DIETs;
The high dedication and whole-hearted effort put in by the Hon’ble Education Minister and the Parlimentary Secretary and other Officials of the Department of Higher & Technical Education are extremely commendable. It may be mentioned that many established IASEs in India are not functional due to lack of resources. Mizoram University and NCTE emphatically expressed their desire that the State Government would accord top priority to Mizoram IASE by providing all necessary resources-human, physical and financial for its successful establishment.
