The Tamil Nadu government will move the Supreme Court with a Review Petition against its September 1 order mandating that all in-service teachers without the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) qualification must clear it within two years or face compulsory retirement, reported NDTV.
School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said while Tamil Nadu supports TET as a compulsory requirement for new teacher appointments, imposing it on existing teachers is “unfair and unsustainable.”
The state employs around 1.75 lakh teachers, many appointed lawfully under rules valid at the time. Officials argue that disqualifying them decades later would cause “massive disruption” and leave schools understaffed.
The court had ruled that those failing to clear TET within two years must retire with terminal benefits, while teachers with less than five years of service could continue but without promotions. The government fears mass retirements will create crippling shortages and disrupt the education of lakhs of students. Recruiting equivalent TET-qualified teachers in a short span is “practically impossible,” the Minister noted.
The state’s petition will argue that the Right to Education Act 2009 applies only to new appointments, that the 2010 National Council for Teacher Education notification exempted existing teachers, and that retrospective enforcement unsettles lawful rights.
Reassuring teachers ahead of the assembly elections due in seven months, the Minister said: “We will fight vigorously in the Supreme Court to protect teachers’ livelihoods and ensure that the right of every child to quality education remains secure.”
