Vol. 5, Issue 10, Part B (2019)

Abstract
The Draft New Education Policy (2019) recommends “redesigning teacher education to improve foundational literacy and numeracy skills among children”. The recommendations albeit not clearly defined in the draft policy statement brings the spotlight back to teacher education – an area historically neglected for its limited bearings on the profession. This paper presents a background of teacher preparation in India and juxtapositions the four year Bachelor of Elementary Education programme (B.El.Ed) programme in it. The programme is departure in more ways than one and yet has met with challenges that have limited its reach.