SRINAGAR: The Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) remains a mandatory minimum qualification for appointment as a teacher in schools covered under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, the Union Ministry of Education informed the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Responding to a question on opposition among in-service teachers, including those in West Bengal, to appearing for TET again after years of service, Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary said recruitment, service conditions and deployment of teachers fall within the administrative domain of respective state governments and Union Territory administrations.
The Ministry cited the Supreme Court’s judgment of September 1, 2025, which held that TET is one of the minimum qualifications prescribed under Section 23 of the RTE Act and is mandatory for appointment as a teacher in schools covered by the legislation. The court had directed eligible teachers to acquire the prescribed qualification within the stipulated timeline.
In its subsequent judgment on May 29, 2026, while disposing of review petitions, the Supreme Court extended the deadline for acquiring the TET qualification from August 31, 2027, to August 31, 2028.
The court also observed that the appropriate governments and authorities should endeavour to conduct TET periodically, preferably twice a year, with an interval of about six months between examinations, to provide eligible teachers a reasonable opportunity to fulfil the qualification requirement.
The Supreme Court, while taking into account the practical difficulties faced by in-service teachers recruited before the enactment of the RTE Act in 2009, also invoked its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution.
It directed that teachers recruited before the RTE Act who had less than five years of service remaining as on September 1, 2025, could continue in service until superannuation without acquiring the TET qualification.
However, such teachers would not be eligible for promotion unless they acquire the prescribed TET qualification.
The Ministry’s response did not announce any separate exemption for serving teachers from the TET requirement, placing the issue of teacher recruitment and service conditions within the jurisdiction of the respective states and Union Territories.
