Andhra: Jagan urges CM Naidu to exert pressure on Centre over TET rule

Amaravati, July 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday urged Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to exert pressure on the Centre to exempt teachers appointed before 2011 from the compulsory Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) rule.

The YSRCP chief took to social media to highlight the hardships faced by teachers due to the rule requiring them to clear TET.

Jagan told Naidu that it was unfair for his government to ignore the hardships teachers face due to the TET rule.

He posted that more than one lakh teachers who have been serving in schools since before 2011 are now facing serious difficulties because they are being asked to clear the TET compulsorily. Many of them have been working as subject teachers for over 20 to 25 years. Expecting them now to clear a TET examination that covers multiple subjects and secure at least 60 per cent marks is neither fair nor practical, he said.

Jagan said these teachers were appointed only after clearing the competitive recruitment examinations in force at the time. In fact, the TET did not even exist when they were recruited. He questioned how it is justified to impose a qualification retrospectively on teachers who entered service before the TET was introduced.

The YSRCP leader pointed out that the Right to Education Act made TET mandatory from 2011 onwards. When the law itself came into force only from 2011, there is merit in the teachers' demand that those who were already in service before that year should be exempted from the requirement. He said they had already proved their merit by clearing the competitive examinations prescribed during their recruitment.

Jagan said teachers say that the compulsory TET rule is not only blocking their promotions but is also creating uncertainty over their job security and causing severe mental stress. Unfortunately, the state government has failed to address these genuine concerns. It has not even taken the initiative to pass a resolution in the Assembly seeking an amendment to the law and forwarding it to the Central government.

He demanded that the state government pressure the Centre to exempt all teachers appointed before 2011 from the TET requirement and provide them with long-overdue relief. He added that it must not be forgotten that these teachers secured their jobs only after successfully clearing the competitive recruitment examinations that existed at the time of their appointment.

Source: IANS