Teaching aspirants in State stare at another year of TET write-off

R SATHYANARAYANA

With the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), mandatory for the appointment of teachers in Tamil Nadu, getting cancelled last year due to the first wave of coronavirus, the conduct of exams this year also is in jeopardy given the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic situation.

In 2019, the Tamil Nadu Teachers Recruitment Board (TN TRB), the nodal agency of appointing teachers, conducted TET paper-1 and paper-2 in June with more than six lakh candidates appearing for it.

While the secondary grade teachers, who teach Classes 1 to 5, would have to pass TET paper-1, graduate teachers, who handle Classes 5 to 8, would have to complete TET paper-2. The TET is normally conducted in

June and the results published after a gap of two months.

A senior official from the TNTRB said by this time the notification would have been issued and the enrollment of candidates completed. “No official information on conducting TET in 2021 have been issued so far since there was no clue when the normalcy would be restored from the COVID-19 second wave pandemic situation,” he said adding: “However, there would be a discussion with the high-level authorities and officials from the health department on the possibility of conducting TET at least after July or August based on the scenario at that time”.

Stating that the State government priority was to conduct board exams for Class 12, the official said even about 80,000 teaching aspirants, who cleared the TET over the period including in 2019, could not be appointed in the government schools due to lockdown and pandemic issues.

The official pointed out that the only thing that could be done for TET passed candidates was that the previous government had issued orders to make lifetime validity of the TET certificates. “The State government had also written a letter to the Centre to allow the extension of TET credentials for a lifetime,” he said adding “however, there was no reply from the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE)”.

Tamil Nadu Teachers Association PK Ilamaran also said the new government should consider giving the appointment for the 80,000 teaching aspirants waiting after completing TET. “In addition, TET exams should also be conducted this year once normalcy is restored for the benefit of the teachers who want to work in State-run schools,” he added.