Teachers’ Federation Urges PM Modi to Act on TET Ruling
The federation pointed out that two months have passed since the Supreme Court order, but the Union government has not filed a review petition.
Hyderabad: The Telangana United Teachers’ Federation has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to act on the Supreme Court ruling that made the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) compulsory for teachers appointed before August 23, 2010. The federation said thousands of teachers now feared dismissal or stalled promotions after decades of service.
The federation’s memorandum said that these teachers were recruited through the rules in place at the time and many have worked for 15 to 30 years, including long stretches in rural schools.
Federation president Chava Ravi and general secretary A. Vankati said in their statement followed a call from the School Teachers’ Federation of India. They said the memorandum was sent to the Prime Minister’s Office through the grievance portal, asking that teachers appointed before the NCTE notification and before the enforcement of the Right to Education Act be kept out of the TET requirement.
“About 25 lakh teachers in the country and 45,000 teachers in the state are troubled by this issue,” the statement noted. They added that both the Union and state governments had earlier said that teachers appointed before the NCTE notification did not need to write TET, which was why many did not appear for it for the past 15 years. They said it is unfair to now tell them that failure to clear TET in two years will cost them their jobs.
The federation pointed out that two months have passed since the Supreme Court order, but the Union government has not filed a review petition. They urged the Centre to amend the law during Parliament’s Winter Session beginning on December 1 to protect senior teachers.
The TSUTF leaders said letters will be delivered to all Members of Parliament from Telangana from Wednesday till the end of the month.
