BENGALURU : The National Council For Teacher Education recently approved the validity of the Teacher’s Eligibility Test (TET) certificate for a lifetime. Thus far, the TET certificate was valid for seven years. The agenda was placed before the Council’s 50th general body meeting held virtually, and the council approved extension of validity of the certificate to a lifetime.
This comes at a time when council members are working on concrete ways to improve the teacher education sector in light of the National Education Policy. The Teacher Eligibility Test, launched in 2011 by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), is an entrance examination mandatory for those who want to join the profession and teach from Classes 1 to 8. As per NCTE’s guidelines, the TET is a minimum requirement for any aspirant to join a government, aided or private school as a teacher.
KARTET (Karnataka TET) was initiated to ensure uniform recruitment process and also that teachers have the skills, essential aptitude, ability to meet teaching challenges, and talent to teach at the primary and upper primary level. Officials from the state education department are yet to receive a circular from NCTE. Expressing concern about NCTE doing away with repetitive tests that check the aptitude and skill of teachers vis a vis the updated syllabus every seven years, an official said it appears that priorities have changed, and are in line with the NEP.
Another official said, “The seven-year validity was conceptualised for those seeking the job of a teacher. However, teachers who were already appointed ended up finding the seven-year validity problematic as they had to write the exam time and again. The teaching fraternity, however, welcomed the move. “Just as BEd and DEd take place once, it is good that teachers are certified for TET just once, instead of making them take the examination, regardless of their work experience,” said a member of the fraternity.
Sources say that while TET is mandatory for teaching in government schools, the certification is not so important in private school appointments. The provision would have prospective effect (for candidates who get the certificate in future) as also for those who already have a TET certificate. After approval, NCTE is seeking legal opinion on the issue.