Teachers Unions Oppose TET Mandate For Senior Teachers
Request governments to seek review of SC judgment
Hyderabad: Close to one lakh teachers in Telangana may be pushed into qualifying the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) following the Supreme Court judgment on September 1 that mandates in-service staff with more than five years for retirement must clear the exam within two years.
Those who fail to clear the examination would risk losing their jobs, and no teacher can be promoted without a TET certificate. Only those with less than five years before retirement have been exempted.
The order has unsettled senior staff across the state.
L. Venkanna, general secretary of the Telangana United Teachers Federation (TUTF), said many of those affected have been teaching for decades. “Those who have been working for more than 10 years already should be exempted. They have proven themselves in classrooms, and bringing in an exam at this stage is unfair,” he said. “For nearly 15 years, teachers never considered writing TET because the rules were clear. Now, suddenly, thousands are told to qualify within two years. The government should protect senior staff.”
The Telangana State United Teachers Federation, in a separate statement, requested the Centre and state government to file review petitions.
Union leaders pointed out that the 2010 NCTE notification made TET compulsory only for new recruits, and exempted those already in service. That exemption was carried into state orders in 2011 and 2015.The ruling applies to government, aided, and private schools that are not minority-run. The question of whether minority institutions must also adopt TET has been referred to a Constitution Bench.
As per reports, nationally, nearly three lakh teachers in Tamil Nadu, six lakh in Maharashtra, fifty thousand in Kerala, and up to three lakh in Uttar Pradesh could be affected. Education officials and unions suggest between around 10 to 20 lakh teachers across India now face the requirement. While TET has been mandatory for new appointments since 2011, the court’s order extends it to staff who had long been exempted.
Teachers’ organisations in Telangana argue that vacancies are already high and promotions long delayed. They warn that forcing senior staff into exam preparation will distract from classrooms and lower morale.
