To compensate for missed opportunities for teachers to pass the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), the Tamil Nadu School Education Department intends to hold at least six TETs over the next two years.
The move follows a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, which confirmed that clearing TET is required for all in-service teachers to remain in service — except those with less than five years of service remaining — regardless of promotions, The New Indian Express reports.
According to the National Council for Teacher Education rules, states must hold at least one TET each year to allow teacher education graduates to qualify and become teachers. However, Tamil Nadu has conducted only six ordinary TETs and one special TET in the last 12 years.
A senior official of the School Education Department told The New Indian Express that the department is now considering holding at least three TETs a year with a moderate difficulty level, as well as a special TET exclusively for teachers already in service. They added that the pass percentage of the test was just 4.5 per cent.
To recall, TET candidates in August demanded that the pass marks of the exam be reduced from 82 to 75 across all categories, following the Tamil Nadu government’s reduction of the cutoff for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates from 82 to 60.
TET is a 150-mark exam in which candidates must obtain 60 per cent (90 marks) to qualify, with a 5 per cent relaxation for those in reserved categories. Depending on the teacher’s subject expertise, the syllabus comprises papers on child development and pedagogy, as well as language and subject knowledge.
Following the SC order, many teachers applied for the TET exam, which was notified by the Teachers Recruitment Board in August, with an application deadline of today, September 8, teachers’ associations told The New Indian Express.
