The recent announcement by Union Ministry of Education effecting lifetime validity for Central Teacher Eligibility Test and Teacher Eligibility Test (conducted by States) certificates has come as a huge relief to candidates worried about the lapse of their certification after completion of the earlier specified duration of seven years.
As per the announcement, the validity of the CTET/TET certificates will have retrospective effect from 2011 when the guidelines for the test were specified by National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).
During October 2020, NCTE proposed to extend lifetime validity to CTET/TET, but only with prospective effect.
The latest announcement by the Ministry of Education will, in particular, enable eligible candidates to sustain their seniority in employment exchange for posting in government schools, said Balasubramanian, a senior teacher.
Against the backdrop of CTET and TET qualification been made compulsory under National Education Policy 2020, quality infusion in the teaching-learning process will take centrestage in schools — government or private — in the long-run. However, the transition may be rather tough due to enormous erosion in quality caused by appointment of teachers with shortfalls in competency over decades, he pointed out.
The cause for worry for managements of private schools is that the pass percentage in TETs has been low at single digit. The IQ levels of those opting for teaching have been witnessing a drastic drop.
Candidates appearing for CTET/TET are required to answer multiple choice questions with no negative marking. The TET is touted to bring national standards and benchmark of teacher quality in the recruitment process, inducing teacher education institutions and students from these institutions to further improve their performance standards.
The purpose of CTET/TET, according to NCTE, is to send a positive signal to all stakeholders that the government lays special emphasis on quality of teachers.
Nevertheless, setting of the benchmark by the Central Government was a dire need in the context of many developing and developed countries recruiting highly qualified teachers to handle kindergarten and primary levels to ensure a strong foundation, a CBSE school functionary in Tiruchi said.