Kerala to challenge Supreme Court's TET ruling; Sivankutty says verdict 'could impact 50,000 teachers'

The Kerala government will approach the Supreme Court against its recent ruling mandating TET qualifications for aspiring and in-service teachers, the minister for general education and labour V Sivankutty said, as per reports.

The Supreme Court in its order dated September 1 ruled that teachers appointed before the enactment of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, are required to qualify the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) in order to remain in service and become eligible for promotions.

The SC order is applicable to non-minority educational institutions. The court also exempted senior teachers who have just five years left in service from the new rule. The judgment is in line with the RTE Act and National Council for Teacher Education’s (NCTE) 2011 guidelines.

The judgement could impact nearly 50,000 teachers in Kerala, the minister said, adding that the ruling will impact the majority of teachers, making promotions and appointments more complicated. Implementation of TET is “unfair” and will adversely affect the senior teachers of the state, the Times of India quoted the minister as saying.

States like Maharashtra and Odisha have also expressed their concerns. The Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) member JM Abhyankar recently said that 6 lakh teachers in the state –- about 70-75% — will have to sit for the TET exam to remain in service. He had also requested the minister of school education, Dadaji Bhuse, to grant 6 months’ leave to teachers preparing for the exam.

The Odisha government stated that it will “examine” the Supreme Court judgment on TET and said several teachers have been appointed without qualifying the Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test (OTET) as the exam was not mandatory before 2011, when these teachers were recruited.