The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) is a mandatory requirement to continue in teaching service or to seek promotion [Anjuman Ishaat-e-Taleem Trust v The State of Maharashtra & Ors].
The Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan, however, provided relief to the teachers who have only five years to reach their age of superannuation and directed that they may continue in service.
"However, we make it clear that if any such teacher (having less than five years’ service left) aspires for promotion, he will not be considered eligible without he/she having qualified the TET," it added.
Teachers who have more than five years in service are mandated to qualify the TET within two years to continue service, the Court said.
"If any of such teachers fail to qualify the TET within the time that we have allowed, they shall have to quit service. They may be compulsorily retired; and paid whatever terminal benefits they are entitled to. We add a rider that to qualify for the terminal benefits, such teachers must have put in the qualifying period of service, in accordance with the rules. If any teacher has not put in the qualifying service and there is some deficiency, his/her case may be considered by the appropriate department in the Government upon a representation being made by him/her," the Court ordered.
The Court ruled that Section 23 of the Right to Education (RTE) Act provides for a deadline for all teachers, who are in service, to acquire the prescribed minimum qualifications within a period of five years.
Should they fail to do so, they render themselves ineligible to continue on their post, the Court said, adding that the law's objective is uphold the best interest of the children by ensuring quality education, not only through teachers who were to be appointed after the commencement of the RTE Act but also for in-service teachers.
"Obtaining the TET qualification under the RTE Act is mandatory and the consequence of not obtaining such qualification flowing from the scheme of the RTE Act is that the in-service teachers would cease to have any right to continue in service," the Court held.
Pertinently, the question of whether State can mandate TET for minority institutions and how it would affect their rights, was referred to a larger Bench. The bench questioned the view taken by the top court in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust v. Union of India that minority schools are exempted from RTE Act.
The decision might have, unknowingly, jeopardized the very foundation of universal elementary education, the Court said. Exemption of minority institutions from the RTE Act leads to fragmentation of the common schooling vision and weakening of the idea of inclusivity and universality envisioned by Article 21A, it added.
"We are afraid, instead of uniting children across caste, class, creed, and community, it reinforces ‘divides’ and ‘dilutes’ the transformative potential of shared learning spaces. If the goal is to build an equal and cohesive society, such exemptions move us in the opposite direction. What commenced as an attempt to protect cultural and religious freedoms has inadvertently created a regulatory loophole, leading to a surge in institutions seeking minority status to bypass the regime ordained by the RTE Act," the Court opined.
The Court further said that while the autonomy of minority institutions must be protected, it is not beyond the reach of reasonable regulation in the interest of maintaining educational standards and achieving constitutional goals.
"In our considered opinion, the RTE Act ought to apply to all minority institutions, whether aided or unaided," the bench said, as it referred the issue to the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
The Court passed the judgment on a batch of petitions, including from Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, related to the issue of whether TET is mandatory for teaching service.
The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) in 2010 had 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, NCTE introduced TET.
[Read Judgment]