, the examination that channels students into professional courses. “If the BEd course is brought under the umbrella of KEA, we expect there will be increased transparency, which will attract more candidates,” said AS Srikanth, principal secretary, state department of higher education.

Srikanth added that the department of primary and secondary education has given the green signal to this move. Even though the BEd degree is technically a course in higher education, the responsibility for admission to it has so far been the prerogative of the department of public instruction, whose main responsibility is school-level education.

“At present, the KEA conducts counselling for eligible BEd candidates, aiding in the selection of colleges. From next year, we will handle the complete admission process, starting from inviting applications,” said a KEA official.

There are 410 BEd colleges, of which 42 are private, aided by the government, and 362 private, unaided. There are 22,000 seats for the BEd course in the state; but not as many takers each year.