Teacher’s TET Crisis in West Bengal! Whose Fault is it Despite the Special Extension until 2016?

Teacher’s TET Crisis: A case concerning the TET qualification of teachers has recently been settled in the Supreme Court, creating a new crisis in the education system of West Bengal and the entire country. Although the central government granted a special opportunity to West Bengal until 2016, the jobs of many teachers are now at risk due to the misuse of that opportunity. In this report, we will discuss the root causes of this crisis and its various aspects.

Background of the Events:

In 2010, according to the Right to Education (RTE) Act, the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) set minimum qualification standards for teachers, which included passing the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET). However, due to infrastructural deficits, many states could not implement this rule immediately. In this situation, the central government decided to grant an exemption to the states for a period of time.

The Central Government’s Exemption and Its Conditions:

The government of West Bengal also applied to the center for this exemption. The center initially granted the exemption until March 31, 2014. Later, at the request of the state, this deadline was extended to March 31, 2016. However, some important conditions were imposed with this exemption:

• Conducting TET examinations: The Government of West Bengal had to conduct TET examinations in its own state.
• Change in recruitment rules: The state had to change the recruitment rules to make TET mandatory and notify it in the newspapers.
• Acquisition of educational qualifications: All the teachers who were appointed within the exemption period had to acquire the minimum educational qualifications prescribed by the NCTE.

The Cause of the Crisis:

From the exemption given by the central government and its conditions, it was clear that passing TET was mandatory for all teachers appointed after March 31, 2016. But, it is alleged that even after this deadline, many teachers have been appointed without TET. It is because of this irregularity that this crisis has arisen today and those teachers are facing trouble by the recent Supreme Court ruling.

Supreme Court’s Observation and Review Petition:

The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of making TET mandatory in this case, which has put the jobs of many teachers at risk. Several review petitions have been filed against this verdict. Now it remains to be seen how strongly the lawyers can present arguments in favor of these petitions.

What is the future?:

This crisis is a big challenge for the education system of West Bengal and the entire country. On the one hand, the future of teachers is uncertain, and on the other hand, there is a fear of students’ education being affected. The state government and the education department need to take immediate steps to get out of this situation.