Patna: The Union cabinet decision to amend the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 has brought smiles to the faces of about 90 students pursuing four-year integrated B.A B.Ed. & B.Sc B.Ed. courses from the Central University of South Bihar (CUSB).

The cabinet decision has dispelled fear among students about validity of their degrees.

CUSB, which began its academic session from 2009, did not have NCTE recognition for 2013-17 and 2014-18 batches of the BA-B.Ed and B.Sc-B.Ed courses. The university has NCTE recognition for running B.A B.Ed. and B.Sc B.Ed. courses from the 2015 academic session.

On November 1, the union cabinet decided to introduce a Bill in Parliament to amend the NCTE Act 1993. The proposed legislation will grant retrospective recognition to the central/state universities which are conducting teachers' education courses without NCTE permission.

CUSB vice-chancellor, Harish Chandra Singh Rathore said: "It is a landmark decision. We are thankful to the union cabinet for ending the uncertainty among students."