Srinagar, Sep 24: The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution urging the Union government to exempt teachers appointed before January 1, 2019, from appearing in the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET).
The resolution, moved by Education Minister Sakeena Itoo, received support from both treasury and opposition benches. It seeks amendments to Section 23 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, to provide relief to teachers appointed before the specified date.
The move has been welcomed by the teachers’ fraternity, which expressed gratitude to Itoo for taking up their concerns and supporting their demand for exemption from the mandatory test.
The resolution urges the Centre to take necessary legal steps and issue a notification through the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) to exempt the teachers from TET.
Speaking in the Assembly, Itoo said the resolution would be submitted to the Union Government. She added that the Law Minister would place the matter before the Supreme Court and argue for protecting the dignity of teachers.
She said the Education Department had faced considerable pressure to conduct the TET, but the government made efforts to safeguard the interests of teachers.
During the discussion, National Conference legislators Nazir Gurezi and Syed Bashir Veeri supported the resolution. Veeri said asking teachers who had already qualified through prescribed recruitment procedures to appear for another test amounted to injustice.
He said teachers felt let down when they were asked to take the TET despite having secured their appointments through established selection procedures.
Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather observed that the House was unanimous on the issue and called for limiting the discussion. The resolution was subsequently put to a voice vote and passed with support from both sides.
Under the RTE Act, TET is one of the essential qualifications for appointment as a teacher for Classes I to VIII. The NCTE introduced the requirement through notifications issued in 2010 and 2011.
The Assembly’s resolution now seeks the Centre’s intervention to secure an exemption for teachers appointed before January 1, 2019.
