There are five categories of programmes for the education of teachers: 1. Pre-school/Nursery Teacher Education; 2. Elementary Teacher Education; 3. Secondary Teacher Education; 4. Education for Physical Education Teachers; 5. Education for teaching the Disabled. While the first four categories are regulated by the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) (Hans Bhawan Wing II, 1 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110 001 – website: www.ncte-in.org), the fifth category is under the control of Rehabilitation Council of India. The NCTE was established under the NCTE Act, 1993. Teacher education is offered at certificate, diploma, degree, and post graduation levels. Qualifications acquired from institution not recognized by the NCTE are not valid for employment in schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions governed or aided by central and state governments.
Degrees and diploma in special education are the required qualifications for teaching students with various disabilities. The Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) in respect of five categories disabilities, viz., Hearing Impairment, Visual Impairment, Mental Retardation, Learning Disability, and Neuromuscular Disabilities. Courses at diploma level includes, Visual Impairment, Cerebral Palsy, Autism and Spectrum Disorder, and Mental Retardation.
