Pass TET in 2 years, or resign... Why are the jobs of thousands of teachers in danger?

The Supreme Court has made it mandatory for all teachers in the country to pass the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET). This order will also apply to those teachers who are already in government jobs. The court has given two years to all the teachers who are already in service to pass the TET; otherwise, they may lose their jobs. However, there are some teachers who have been exempted from TET.

Actually, the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) had made TET mandatory for appointments from class 1 to 8 on July 29, 2011. Now, the important question before the court was whether the teachers appointed before this notification also needed to qualify for the TET to remain in service or to be considered for promotion.

Will the teachers who are already in service also have to pass the TET?

Yes, the Supreme Court has said in its decision that teachers must qualify for the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) to remain in service or to get a promotion. This decision also applies to those teachers who were appointed before the implementation of the law making TET mandatory.

Why did the Supreme Court make TET mandatory?

A bench of Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justice Manmohan gave this verdict while hearing several civil appeals, including Anjuman Ishaat-e-Taleem Trust vs State of Maharashtra and others related to the eligibility of teachers.

What is the Anjuman Ishaat-e-Taleem Trust vs State of Maharashtra case?

The trust had approached the Supreme Court in 2021, questioning the TET mandatory implemented by state governments (such as Maharashtra) and some provisions of the RTE. The petition asked whether the conditions of the RTE Act and TET can also be applied to minority institutions.

Will TET apply to teachers of minority institutions or not?

The Supreme Court ruled in this case that TET will be mandatory for serving teachers, promotion and new teachers. Serving teachers have been given two years to pass the TET. However, this requirement will not apply to minority institutions. The Supreme Court has sent this decision to the larger bench for consideration.

For which teachers is TET not mandatory?

At present, teachers of minority institutions and teachers of some non-minority schools have been exempted from the requirement of TET. The larger bench will decide the requirement of TET for teachers of minority institutions. At the same time, the court has excluded those teachers from the TET requirement who are going to retire within 5 years. That is, teachers who will retire by 20230 do not need to give TET. However, their promotion will not be considered during this period.

If TET is not qualified, will thousands of teachers lose their jobs?

Yes, teachers who have more than 5 years left for retirement will have to qualify TET within 2 years at any cost. If they are unable to qualify it, they may lose their job. Such teachers will have to take early retirement themselves. In the event of retirement or dismissal, teachers will also be paid retirement benefits.

Impact of the court's decision on more than 50 lakh teachers

Let us tell you that the number of teachers teaching students from class 1 to 8 in government schools across the country is about 50 lakh. The highest number (more than 16 lakh) is in Uttar Pradesh. After this, there are more than 7 lakh teachers in Madhya Pradesh and about 8 lakh teachers in Rajasthan.

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