TET requirement for physical edu teachers in UP sparks concern among aspirants

The recruitment advertisement, for 17,735 TGT posts in 4,512 government-aided secondary schools across the state, has made TET qualification mandatory for physical education candidates as well

The recent recruitment notification of Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission (UPESSC) making the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) mandatory for physical education candidates in the recruitment of trained graduate teachers (TGT) has triggered concern among aspirants concerned, many of whom say they have never been even eligible to appear for the test.

For representation only

The recruitment advertisement, issued on Friday for 17,735 TGT posts in 4,512 government-aided secondary schools across the state, has made TET qualification mandatory for physical education candidates as well, despite the fact that Bachelor of Physical Education (BPEd) and Bachelor of Physical Education (BPE) candidates have not been allowed to appear for any TET conducted in Uttar Pradesh since the implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act in July 2011, claim affected aspirants.

They argue that the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has not prescribed TET as a requirement for the recruitment of physical education teachers. They also claim that the NCTE has not issued any amendment or separate guidelines for physical education since August 23, 2010.

“If BPEd and BPE candidates are not eligible to fill out the TET application form, how can they possess a TET certificate?” asked Dhirendra Pratap Yadav, state president of the BPEd Unemployed Association.

The recruitment includes 849 physical education teacher posts, of which 784 are for male candidates and 65 for female candidates. Of the total posts, 344 are unreserved, 223 are for Other Backward Classes (OBC), 154 for Scheduled Castes (SC) and 128 for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).

Commenting on the issue, Sanjay Singh, public relations officer of UPESSC, said the recruitment rules had been framed by the secondary education department.

Aspirants point out that TET is not mandatory for physical education teacher recruitment elsewhere in the country, including in Kendriya Vidyalayas and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas. They have questioned the rationale for imposing the eligibility condition in the Uttar Pradesh TGT recruitment when, according to them, candidates have no avenue to obtain the required certificate.