Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to amend the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) Act, 1993, to exempt teachers appointed before August 23, 2010, from mandatory Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) requirements.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Stalin warned that the Supreme Court’s September 1, 2025, ruling, which requires all in-service teachers who have not cleared TET to do so within two years or risk losing their jobs, creates an “urgent and significant” crisis for lakhs of teachers across the country, including nearly four lakh in Tamil Nadu.
He emphasised that the retrospective application of TET disrupts long-settled service rights and poses a “serious risk of destabilising the functioning of the school education system.” Teachers in this category, Stalin noted, were “fully eligible, properly qualified, and duly recruited under the statutory rules in force at the time of their appointment.”
Also read: SC mandates TET qualification for teachers' appointment
The Chief Minister highlighted the practical challenges, arguing that no state could replace such a vast number of teachers in a short period. He warned that depriving long-serving teachers of promotions due to a qualification introduced years after their appointment would lead to “disproportionate hardship and stagnation,” despite decades of experience.
Stalin urged the Prime Minister to direct the Ministry of Education to amend Section 23 of the RTE Act and Section 12A of the NCTE Act, ensuring that teachers in service as of August 23, 2010, remain eligible for promotions and can continue their duties without disruption.
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