NEW DELHI: The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday filed a review petition in the Supreme Court seeking reconsideration of its September 1 order mandating all serving teachers to clear the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), standing counsel of TN govt, P Wilson told the TNIE.
"Yes, TN government has moved the Supreme Court by filing a review petition challenging the Sept 1 order in the TET matter," Wilson said.
When asked about when the matter will come up for hearing in the top court, the senior lawyer replied that the matter is now with the apex court and may be taken up for hearing in 10-15 days.
The review petition is generally filed by one of the aggrieved parties in a case, requesting the Court to reconsider its earlier order passed by it.
The review petition is basically heard in a chamber hearing without the presence of any parties, lawyer (s), litigants or anyone. The same judge (s) who pronounced the earlier order/ verdict hear the case again and pass the order, after going through the case. The judges take approximately half an hour or so to pass the order in the matter.
The Supreme Court's two-judge bench, headed by Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Manmohan, in its September 1 verdict, held that the TET is a mandatory requirement to continue in teaching service or to seek promotion.
The top court passed the verdict after hearing a batch of petitions, including states from Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, related to the issue of whether TET is mandatory for teaching service.
One of the appellants, Anjuman Ishaat-e-Taleem Trust (a recognised minority education society), had also moved the SC against the State of Maharashtra in the case.
The apex court, in its verdict, had referred to a larger bench the question of whether the state can mandate TET for minority institutions and how it would affect their rights.
It ordered that teachers who have more than five years in service are mandated to qualify for the TET to continue service, the Court said. Otherwise, they may quit or apply for compulsory retirement with terminal benefits.
"We hold that the provisions of the RTE Act have to be complied with by all schools as defined in Section 2(n) of the RTE Act, except the schools established and administered by the minority, whether religious or linguistic, till such time the reference is decided and subject to the answers to the questions formulated. Logically, it would follow that in-service teachers (irrespective of the length of their service) would also be required to qualify for the TET to continue in service," the court in its verdict said.
It, however, added that we are mindful of the ground realities as well as the practical challenges.
The apex court highlighted that there were in-service teachers who were recruited much prior to the advent of the RTE Act and who might have put in more than two or even three decades of service. They have been imparting education to their students to the best of their ability without any serious complaint. It is not that the students who have been imparted education by the non-TET qualified teachers have not shone in life. To dislodge such teachers from service on the ground that they have not qualified for the TET would seem to be a bit harsh, although we are alive to the settled legal position that operation of a statute can never be seen as an evil.
"Bearing in mind their predicament, we invoke our powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India and direct that those teachers who have less than five years' service left, as on date, may continue in service till they attain the age of superannuation without qualifying the TET," the court added.
It, in much relief to the teachers who have only five years to reach their age of superannuation, has directed that they may continue in service.
"We reiterate and hold that the TET is indeed a qualification, necessary to be held by a person seeking appointment as a teacher in a school. Only upon a person obtaining such qualification can he become eligible for appointment as a teacher," the top court stated in its order.
While stressing that the eligibility criteria, among other things, also prescribe the TET as a qualification, the top court said, that a person seeking appointment as a teacher must, as a qualification, pass the TET. "Only by obtaining such a qualification, would he be considered eligible to be appointed as a teacher. In our view, there lies no difference as such between qualification and eligibility," it added.