The Supreme Court made it clear in its order on Tuesday that now passing the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) will be mandatory for all new teachers and those teachers already working who want promotion. The court clearly said that any teacher will be able to get a new job or promotion only if he has passed the TET, otherwise none of his claims will be valid. This decision is being considered a big step towards ensuring the quality of the education system and the qualification of teachers.
Relief to teachers with less than 5 years of service
The bench of Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justice Manmohan said that teachers who have less than 5 years of service left till retirement will be exempted from the requirement of passing TET. Such teachers can remain on their current job till retirement. However, if they want promotion, it will be mandatory for them to pass TET as well. The court believes that this will provide relief to those teachers who are at the last stage of their career.
Two years time for old teachers
The Supreme Court also gave clear guidelines for those teachers who were appointed before the Right to Education (RTE) Act of 2009 came into force and who still have more than 5 years left in service. It will be mandatory for such teachers to pass the TET within two years. If they fail to do so, they will have to lose their jobs and will only get terminal benefits. This provision has been made with the aim of improving the quality of education and providing qualified teachers to the children.
Minority educational institutions exempted for now
The court said in its order that this arrangement will not apply to educational institutions with minority status at present. The Supreme Court clarified that at present the legal question is pending before the larger bench whether the Right to Education Act (RTE) applies to minority institutions or not. Until a final decision is taken on this, TET will not be mandatory for teachers of minority institutions. This decision of the court can prove to be a big change in the education sector and it will affect lakhs of teachers.
