The Supreme Court has directed on 1 September today that all teachers associated with Teaching Service will be required to pass Teachers Eligibility Test i.e. TET to stay in their service or promote. The bench of Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justice Agstein George Christ said-
Big bench will decide for minority institutions
The court said that these instructions will decide whether to apply to the Minority Institutions or not. The Supreme Court has given this decision while hearing a petition related to the compulsory TET for teaching in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
What is tet exam
Teacher Eligibility Test i.e. TET is a national level eligibility test, which decides whether a candidate is eligible to become a teacher in primary and upper primary classes (from class 1 to 8). This examination was made mandatory in 2010 by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).
What is the whole matter
According to Section 23 (1) of RTE Act, 2009, the minimum qualification for teachers will be determined by NCE. NCTE issued a notification on 23 August 2010, in which it was made mandatory to pass TET from class 1 to 8.
The NCTE gave the candidates appointed on the posts of teacher 5 years to qualify TET, which was further extended to 4 years.
Candidates moved the court against NCTE notice. The Madras HC Bench said in June 2025 that teachers who were appointed before 29 July 2011 are not compulsory to pass TET to stay in service, but it will be mandatory to pass TET for promotion.
On this decision, now the Supreme Court has made it mandatory to keep TET for both the service and promotion. However, the decision for Minority Institutions is yet to come.
