STET cleared before July ’11 valid for teachers’ recruitment

The School Teachers Eligibility Test (STET) of Haryana, if cleared before 2011, will be valid for the recruitment that the state government started before July 20, 2016.

This significant decision is set to benefit a sizable number of pre-2011 STET qualified candidates aspiring for teachers’ job through the ongoing recruitment of 11,000 Trained Graduate Teachers (TGTs) and Post Graduate Teachers (PGTs) that the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) had advertised in 2015.

The number of candidates who had passed the STET before 2011 is estimated to be around 10,000.

This move is set to end the ongoing legal battle in the Punjab and Haryana high court.

Now, all the pre-2011 STET qualified candidates will be eligible for the ongoing recruitment of TGTs and PGTs, government sources say.

The Manohar Lal Khattarled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government took this decision on Friday following a series of meetings education minister Ram Bilas Sharma held to resolve the deadlock with the STET qualified candidates.

Later, the education department amended the earlier notification by issuing a clarification regarding the validity of the STET.

“The government has given a one-time concession to those who had passed the STET before July 2011. There was also litigation on this subject in the high court,” PK Das, additional chief secretary (school education), told Hindustan Times.

In his April 21 letter to HSSC, joint secretary (school education) Virender Singh said: “…the validity of such STET certificate shall be up to 20.07.2016.”

Government sources say after the state government “reconsidered” the matter it was decided that certain clauses mentioned in the July 15, 2011 and July 21, 2011 notifications will be “construed to be having prospective effect”--- a demand that the candidates had raised.

The state government had introduced STET in April 2008 for recruitment of all categories of teachers. It was made one of the eligibility conditions for recruitment.

However, this notification was further amended on July 24, 2008. And, in this notification the government didn’t mention anything about the validity of the STET certificate.

Later, to implement the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act-2009, the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) issued guidelines vide August 23, 2010 and February 11, 2011 notifications for conducting the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET).

Hence, Haryana issued notifications on July 15, 2011 and July 21, 2011 about the guidelines to conduct Haryana Teacher Eligibility Test (HTET) for various categories of teachers.

Both the notifications prescribed that the validity period of HTET qualifying certificate for appointment will be for five years and that the validity of already STET qualified candidates will also continue for a period of five years from the date of passing the exam on the pattern of present Haryana Teacher Eligibility Test.

This five years validity period of the certificate was in sharp contrast to the unspecified period of July 24, 2008 notification.

The education department has sent various requisitions for the posts of the TGTs and the PGTs which were advertised by Haryana Staff Selection Commission in 2015.

The candidates who had passed the STET examination filed representations and petitioned the high court with a plea July 2011 notifications cannot have retrospective effect.

“All these candidates will now be eligible for the ongoing recruitment of TGT and PGT,” said PK Das, additional chief secretary (school education).