NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET) is a mandatory requirement for appointment as teachers and for teachers in service to seek promotions. A bench of justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih said in their verdict that teachers with more than five years to retire, must qualify for the TET within two years to remain in service. Else, they may quit or apply for compulsory retirement with terminal benefits, the bench stated.
The SC offered relief to those who have less than five years to retire, saying they need not qualify the TET. But they will not be eligible for promotion.
The bench delivered the verdict after hearing a batch of petitions, including those from Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, regarding whether the TET is must for teaching service.
One of the appellants, Anjuman Ishaat-e-Taleem Trust (a recognised minority education society), had also moved SC against the State of Maharashtra in the case. The question of whether the state can mandate TET for minority institutions and how it would affect their rights was referred to a larger Bench by the top court.
“We hold that the provisions of the RTE Act have to be complied with by all schools as defined in Section 2(n) , except the schools established and administered by the minority, whether religious or linguistic, till such time reference is decided and subject to answers to the questions formulated,” it said.