NCERT likely to offer Master's, PhD programmes in education from 2027

Granted deemed-to-be-university status last month

National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), the national school curriculum body, is likely to roll out its own Master’s and PhD programmes in education from next year, according to people aware of the matter, following change of its status to deemed university last month.

 

The proposed programmes are expected to focus on areas including teacher education, curriculum studies, and educational research, marking a significant shift for NCERT, which has historically functioned as the country’s apex body for school curriculum development, textbook preparation, and educational research, but has not independently awarded higher education degrees.

 

“Now that NCERT has received the status of a deemed university, it will start its own MA courses, postgraduate courses, and doctoral research in education, fully funded by the government,” said a senior official.

 

“It will not happen immediately as it is an old institution and will need to be remodelled and restructured. However, the courses will likely be rolled out next year as time is of essence,” the official added.

 

NCERT was granted deemed-to-be-university status by the Union Education Ministry in April, following approval by the University Grants Commission (UGC), allowing the school curriculum body to award degrees in its own name for the first time. The status covers NCERT headquarters and six constituent institutions — five Regional Institutes of Education (RIEs) and the Pandit Sunderlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education (PSSCIVE), Bhopal. 

 

People familiar with the plans said physical classroom programmes are likely to be conducted through NCERT’s headquarters along with the five RIEs in Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Mysuru, and Shillong.

 

An email sent to the NCERT and the education ministry remained unanswered till press time.

 

The RIEs, established in the 1960s, have long offered teacher education programmes, including BEd, integrated BA-BEd/BSc-BEd, and MEd courses, with teaching carried out by faculty employed by NCERT. However, these programmes operated under affiliations with universities, which awarded the final degrees, while NCERT provided instruction and academic support.

 

The five RIEs operate under different affiliating universities — Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Barkatullah University, Utkal University, University of Mysore, and North-Eastern Hill University — which have traditionally awarded degrees to their students. However, these affiliations are programme-specific and have varied over time, depending on regulatory approvals and course structures, rather than being fixed one-to-one institutional arrangements.

 

Under its deemed university status, NCERT would be able to award degrees in its own name, launch postgraduate and doctoral programmes independently, and exercise greater autonomy over curriculum design and academic structures.

 

“They will conduct research in the pedagogy of education and the courses will focus on that as well,” the official added. 

 

Officials indicated that existing faculty members and researchers across NCERT institutions are likely to support the rollout of the programmes initially, though further hiring of faculty and scholars may be required to scale up postgraduate teaching and doctoral supervision.

 

NCERT’s entry into postgraduate and doctoral education would place it alongside existing institutions offering advanced programmes in education research and teacher training, including the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), the Delhi University (DU), and the Ambedkar University Delhi, all of which run specialised programmes in education, pedagogy, and related social sciences. 

New chapter

• For the first time, the school curriculum body can award degrees independently
• Physical classroom likely to be conducted through NCERT’s headquarters and its five regional institutes
• Existing teachers to help in initial rollout; new hires to join forces at later stage