Yogi govt directs Education dept to seek review of Supreme Court’s TET order

Lucknow:  Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday directed the state’s Education Department to file a review petition against the Supreme Court order, regarding mandatory (Teacher Eligibility Test) TET for in-service teachers. 

The UP CMO took to X to share the information about the Chief Minister’s instructions.

“Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the department to file a revision against the order of the Supreme Court regarding the mandatory requirement of TET for serving teachers of the Basic Education Department,” it said in a post on X.

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“The Chief Minister said that the teachers of the state are experienced and have been provided training from time to time by the government. In such a situation, it is not appropriate to ignore their qualifications and years of service,” it added.

The development comes on the back of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling over the TET, where it made mandatory, not just for fresh appointees but also for the in-service teachers of Classes 1 to 8, to clear the Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET) within two years.

The SC ruling on TET meant sweeping implications for the education system, as this brought even those teachers also in the ambit who were appointed before the TET came into force in 2011.

According to the Apex Court’s order, lakhs of teachers working in government, aided, and private schools will have to pass the test to stay in their position, and any failure to comply will lead to their compulsory retirement with terminal benefits.

Though the relaxation from mandatory TET was given to teachers with less than five years of service left; however, for job promotions, they will have to clear the compulsory test.

The government’s decision to challenge the SC ruling, on the basis of teachers’ experience, assumes significance as this follows cases of suicides by teachers in the state.

In less than a week, two teachers in their late 40s and 50s committed suicide in the state, purportedly over the pressure of passing the mandatory TET test. Their families reportedly claimed that they were stressed and tense after the court order.