All those teachers from Odisha who were aspiring to teach elementary classes, here comes some good news. On Friday, May 12, the Government of Odisha extended the validity of the Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test (OTET) to a lifetime as opposed to seven years. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik informed this via a Twitter post.
The OTET mark sheets and certificates were applicable only for seven years — from the date of the examination subject to the fulfilment of all other eligibility conditions of appointment. Post the seven-year mark, the candidates had to appear for the OTET exam again. But this year onwards, the OTET mark sheets and certificates will have a validity of a lifetime, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.
Result of protests or delays in organising the exam?
This announcement comes on the heels of teacher aspirants protesting against the delay in conducting OTET 2022. Initially, the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) announced that they will be conducting the exam on January 1, 2023 but it was postponed. It is yet to be organised till date.
Owing to the delay, teacher aspirants weren't able to apply for Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya recruitment-2023 examination to be organised by the Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya Sangathan (OAVS) this month.
What do norms say?
As per the rules and regulations, teacher candidates with BEd certificates are required to appear and qualify for the OTET exam to teach elementary classes Odisha Secondary School Teacher Eligibility Test (OSSTET) to teach at the secondary level.
The OTET (Paper 1 and Paper 2) is held once a year and is conducted by BSE as per the guidelines issued by the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE). This is for the appointment of teachers to government schools, private aided schools and private unaided schools.
