CHENNAI: With the Madras High Court vacating the stay on publication of the Special Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) results on Wednesday, secondary-grade government teachers who appeared for the July examination urged the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) to release them without further delay. Every month lost could cost us an attempt to clear the test before the Supreme Court deadline of August 31, 2028, they said.
According to a Supreme Court ruling, in-service teachers handling Classes 1 to 8 must clear the TET by the deadline even as the state government is yet to respond to their request for concessions, including weightage marks based on years of service.
To give serving teachers more chances, the school education department had planned three Special TETs a year -- in January, July and December. Only one has been held so far, and a delay in declaring the July results could push back the exams that follow.
“Now that the court has vacated the stay, the government should release the results immediately. The next Special TET should be conducted in December as planned so that teachers who do not qualify get another opportunity soon. They should not lose an attempt because of delays in conducting the examination or declaring the results,” said R Doss of the Tamil Nadu Elementary Teachers Organisations-Joint Action Committee.
Those teachers who qualify in the July and December TETs should be considered for promotions from January 1, 2027, as that process, too, is stuck at the moment, he added.
Teachers also seek one weightage mark for every year of their service and a relaxation in minimum qualifying marks to 50 out of the total 150 in the Special TET.
According to sources, the government had considered the request for relaxation in qualifying marks but a decision is yet to be taken. “The government should consider the experience of serving teachers and examine whether relaxation in qualifying marks can be provided,” said J Robert, general secretary of Secondary School Teachers Association (SSTA).
