Kashmir's Teacher Education Sector Faces Systemic Collapse as Regulatory Crackdown Leaves Only Two BEd Colleges Standing

A sweeping regulatory de-affiliation has decimated Kashmir's Bachelor of Education (BEd) college network, with only two institutions remaining officially recognized for the 2025-2027 academic cycle. According to University of Kashmir (UoK) notifications, just Chinab Valley College of Education and one other college currently hold National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) accreditation and are accepting applications for their two-year programs. This represents a catastrophic reduction from previous years' operational capacity. Syed Masroor Andrabi, chairperson of Chinab Valley College of Education, warns that the region's BEd colleges now stand 'at the verge of closure,' indicating an imminent crisis in teacher pipeline development. The mass de-recognition suggests either systemic failure to meet NCTE's stringent quality benchmarks or a deliberate administrative consolidation. This development threatens to severely constrain Jammu and Kashmir's future educator supply, potentially undermining long-term educational outcomes and institutional stability across the territory. The situation demands urgent intervention from educational authorities to either restore compliance pathways for affected colleges or establish contingency plans to maintain teacher training capacity.