sc-s-tet-mandate-rattles-thousands-of-teachers-in-tripura

A recent Supreme Court ruling making the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) a mandatory qualification for teachers covered under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, has triggered concern among thousands of teachers in Tripura.

 

Education Department sources said nearly 8,000 teachers in government and government-aided schools could be affected by the judgment, as they teach students aged between six and 14 years, the category covered under the RTE Act. The number could be higher when teachers employed in private schools are taken into account.

 

The Supreme Court, while hearing a batch of review petitions related to teacher eligibility norms, ruled that qualifying TET is an essential requirement for teachers covered under the RTE framework. The court has set September 1, 2028, as the deadline for eligible teachers to obtain the qualification.

 

Officials said data is being collected from schools across the state to determine the exact number of teachers who have not yet cleared TET and may need to appear for the examination.

Also read: Administration, police stop 9,982 child marriages in Tripura

 

The ruling is expected to affect teachers recruited during different phases over the past three decades, including science teachers appointed in 1996 and 1997, assistant teachers recruited in 2003 and 2007, and another batch of science teachers appointed in 2012.

 

However, the court has exempted teachers above 55 years of age and those with less than five years of service remaining before retirement from the mandatory TET requirement.

 

The verdict has caused anxiety among teachers below 55 years who have not qualified TET. Questions have also arisen over whether the ruling will apply to teachers engaged under the Samagra Shiksha programme, who are not regular government employees.

 

The judgment was delivered by a Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Manmohan while hearing review petitions linked to the Anjuman-I-Islam’s Ishaat-e-Taleem Trust case concerning provisions of the RTE Act.