No TET, no promotion: School education department

The clarification follows a recent Supreme Court ruling which made the TET compulsory not only for new candidates entering the teaching profession but also for teachers who want to continue teaching and seek promotions

Mumbai: Teachers seeking a promotion in government schools will now have to clear the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), clarified the school education department, ending the uncertainty around promotion rules. The department stated that only teachers who have passed the TET along with other required qualifications will be eligible for promotions.

No TET, no promotion: School education department

The clarification follows a recent Supreme Court ruling which made the TET compulsory not only for new candidates entering the teaching profession but also for teachers who want to continue teaching and seek promotions. Earlier, teachers who had five years or less remaining before retirement were exempt from passing the TET to continue teaching. However, the department has made it clear that this exemption will not apply in the case of promotions. Even teachers nearing retirement will have to qualify the TET if they wish to be promoted.

The state government has provided teachers with a two-year window to clear the TET, up to November 2027. Teachers are expected to pass the examination within this period to become eligible for promotions. After this deadline, qualifying the TET will be mandatory for all promotions from the teaching cadre.

In line with the Supreme Court judgment, the State Examination Council (SEC) has included the TET as a compulsory condition in the eligibility criteria for departmental examinations. This applies to posts such as graduate teacher, principal, group resource centre coordinator, also known as centre head, and extension officer (education). Following this, the director of primary education sought clear directions from the state government regarding promotions to these posts.

Replying to this request, the under-secretary in the education department, Sharad Makene, said the matter has been referred to the National Council for Teacher Education and the Union government’s School Education Department for further clarifications. Their response is still awaited.

Meanwhile, concerns have been raised by teachers organisations about the implications of this development. Mahendra Ganpule, former vice-president of the state principals association, said, “The government should consider TET qualification for promotions only after the two-year period ends in November 2027.” He warned that giving priority to teachers who have already passed TET for promotion before this deadline, while ignoring senior teachers, would be unfair to others and would amount to injustice within the system.