In W.A.Nos313, 833 of 2022-MADR HC-Teachers appointed prior to July 29, 2011 are exempt from passing TET only for purpose of continuance in post of secondary grade teacher or BT Assistant without promotional prospects, clarifies Madras HC
Justices R. Mahadevan & Mohammed Shaffiq [02-06-2023]

Read Order:The Director Of School Education D.P.I. Campus And Ors Vs. M. Velayutham And Ors 

Tulip Kanth

Chennai, June 5, 2023:  The Madras High Court has clarified that any teacher appointed as Secondary Grade Teacher or Graduate Teacher/BT Assistant prior to July 29,2011 would continue in service and also receive increments and incentives, even if they do not possess/acquire a pass in TET but for future promotional prospects, irrespective of their dates of original appointment, they must necessarily possess TET, failing which they will not be eligible for promotion.

“The Government being an employer, must act in accordance with the rules and regulations framed by it. It should respond to the legitimate aspirations of the employees and create trustworthiness to them”, the Division Bench of Justice R. Mahadevan & Justice Mohammed Shaffiq said.

By a notification, the National Council for Teacher Education laid down certain minimum qualifications for a person to be eligible for appointment as a Teacher in Classes I to VIII in a school. Subsequently, by a 2011 notification, the NCTE made certain amendments & as per the G.Os possessing TET qualification had become essential and mandatory for the teaching faculties from August 23,2010 (subsequently extended by NCTE notification to July 29, 2011) in the State.

There was a requirement in the Notification that the TET should be conducted atleast once in every year and there would be no restriction on the number of attempts a person could take for acquiring a TET Certificate and a person who had qualified the TET may also appear again for improving his/her score.However, it had been brought to notice that the TET had not been conducted annually in the State of Tamil Nadu in the years 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018. Thus, taking this situation that TET had not been conducted, the persons appointed during the period from August 23, 2010 to July 12, 2012 had claimed exemption from passing TET, particularly when it was not in dispute that the TET had been conducted during the years 2012, 2013 and 2017 and they have had sufficient opportunity to prepare and appear for the TET during the said period. 

The key issues before the Bench were- 

-Whether passing of the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) is mandatory for promotion to the post of B.T. Assistant/Graduate Teacher, from the cadre of Secondary Grade Teacher (already in service).

-Whether non-possession/non-acquisition of a pass in TET by a teacher appointed prior to July 29, 2011 would affect his/her continuance in service and drawal of increment, without seeking for further promotion to the post of BT Assistant/Graduate Teacher.

At the outset, on the maintainability of the petitions, the Bench said, “This Court while dealing with a matter of public employment under Article 16, cannot reject the petitions on hyper technical ground of non-maintainability.”

The Bench was of the view that that those appointed prior to July 29, 2011 and in order to extend the benefit to the date of passing of 2011  Memorandums, those appointed prior to November 15, 2011 either in the post of Secondary Grade teacher or Graduate Teacher/BT Assistant were exempted from passing TET for continuance in the said posts. 

“However, for promotion to the post of Graduate Teacher from the post of Secondary Grade teacher or appointment to the post of Secondary Grade teacher or Graduate teacher/BT Assistant by any channel or mode of appointment by either direct recruitment or promotion or by transfer, a pass in Teacher Eligibility Test is mandatory in accordance with the RTE Act read with the NCTE notifications”, the Bench added.

The Bench said, “Any teacher appointed as Secondary Grade Teacher or Graduate Teacher/BT Assistant prior to 29.07.2011 shall continue in service and also receive increments and incentives, even if they do not possess/acquire a pass in TET. At the same time, for future promotional prospects like promotion from secondary grade teacher to B.T. Assistant as well as for promotion to Headmasters, etc., irrespective of their dates of original appointment, they must necessarily possess TET, failing which they will not be eligible for promotion.”

It was also held by the High Court that any appointment made to the post of Secondary Grade Teacher after July 29, 2011 must necessarily possess TET and any appointment made to Graduate Teacher/BT Assistant, after such date, whether by direct recruitment or promotion from the post of Secondary Grade Teacher, or transfer, must necessarily possess TET.

“The Special Rules for the Tamil Nadu School Educational Subordinate Service issued in GO (Ms.) No.13 School Education (S.E3(1)) Department dated 30.01.2020 insofar as it prescribes “a pass in Teacher Eligibility Test (TET)” only for direct recruitment for the post of BT Assistant and not for promotion thereto in Annexure-I (referred to in Rule 6) is struck down, thereby meaning that TET is mandatory/essential eligibility criterion for appointment to the post of BT Assistant even by promotion from Secondary Grade Teachers’, the Bench affirmed while also adding, “The language employed in G.O. (Ms) No. 181 dated 15.11.2011 is to be read and understood to the effect that for continuance in service without promotional prospects, TET is not mandatory.”

Considering the fact that teachers had not been appointed for the last ten years inspite of being qualified with a pass in TET, the Bench directed the State Government to conduct TET periodically and make direct recruitment of teachers and promotion from among TET qualified candidates at the earliest.