After a number of writ petitions filed by teachers, who were employed prior to the order that mandated Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) as a criterion for appointment, sought an exemption from the test, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday placed the batch of cases before a Division Bench to decide on the issue.
Justice D. Krishnakumar said the court was inclined to place the writ petitions before a Division Bench of the court to decide whether granting exemption to teachers appointed prior to the amended notification dated July 29, 2011 was in consonance with Section 23 (1) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
The Central government enacted the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. Therefore, without impleading the government as a party in the writ petitions, whether the writ petitions filed by the teachers seeking approval of appointment without insisting TET and to grant relaxation for appointment to teachers in the absence of any provision under the Act, was maintainable is what the court wants to know.
The court suo motu impleaded the Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development as a respondent in the petitions. The court is of the view that on reading Section 23 of the Act, it clearly shows that teachers appointed must possess minimum qualifications, as laid down by the Academic Authority authorised by the Central and the State Government.
Thus, the teachers appointed on the date the Act came into force have to acquire the necessary minimum qualification to clear TET within the time prescribed by the Central government. A teacher who does not possess minimum qualification at the commencement of the Act shall acquire the minimum qualification within a period of five years as per the Act, the court said.
The State government issued an order in 2011 stating that as per Section 23 (1) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) was appointed as the Academic Authority by the Central government.
The Academic Authority indicated to all the States that teachers recruited in future should have passed TET, in accordance with the guidelines framed by the NCTE.
