MAHARASHTRA TET : Maharashtra’s poor teacher eligibility test planning stumps teachers
PUNE: Teachers aspiring to appear for the state teacher eligibility test are in a fix as the state has scheduled the exam in November but has not yet prepared its syllabus.
On Sunday, the Maharashtra State Council of Examination announced that the state teacher eligibility test (TET) will be held in November this year. However, teachers said they were unaware about the syllabus for the entrance as the council had made no announcement about it yet. The council said the State Council of Education Research and Training (MSCERT) was responsible for framing the syllabus. The MSCERT, on the other hand, has said that teachers must refer to the syllabus put up on the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) website as the state specific syllabus is yet to be prepared.
In keeping with the guidelines of the Right to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, the state proposed that TET to be made mandatory from the next academic year.
As per the RTE Act, each state should conduct TET to ensure good quality of teachers in schools. It also makes the TET score one of the essential qualifications for a candidate to be appointed as a teacher in Zilla Parishad, municipal schools as well as private institutions.
Teachers complained that although they had filled up application forms, they were still unaware of the syllabus for the examination. Shakuntala Bhosle, a primary teacher in a state board school in the city said, "I have applied for the entrance test along three more teachers from my school, but we still do not know what the syllabus is for the entrance test in terms of topics and subjects among other things."
Bhosle said the teachers were waiting for the state government to make some announcement on textbooks or study material they need to refer to for the test.
Kavita Yagnik, another teacher who will be appearing for the test said, "The state government has announced the examination schedule, but it will help candidates taking the exam if the syllabus is known. We are currently preparing on basis of the textbooks we teach."
Dilip Sahasrabuddhe, director, Maharashtra State Examination Council said, "We have only announced that the examination will take place in November, but no date has been announced still as we are waiting for MSCERT to announce the syllabus."
N K Jarag, director, MSCERT said, "The teachers who are taking the exam should refer to the reference material put up on the website of NCTE for now. The state specific syllabus for the entrance test is not ready."
News Source / Sabhaar : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com (17.9.13)
