TNTET : Demand to include Tamil Nadu Teacher Eligibility Test under quota policy increases
Teacher Recruitment Board|Tamil Nadu Teacher Eligibility Test|National Council for Teacher Education|Andhra Pradesh
COIMBATORE: The state government might have decided to stick to 69% reservation policy in employment and education but the Tamil Nadu Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) conducted by the Teacher Recruitment Board in violation of the reservation policy has raised many eyebrows.
Even though National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) said concessions may be given by appropriate state governments to SC/ST, OBC and differently-abled candidates in deciding the pass marks, the state has not yet followed the reservation policy in TET and 60% remains the minimum pass percentage for all candidates.
TET was introduced in accordance with the provisions of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) to ensure quality of teachers. Reliable sources told TOI that even though the NCTE vide its order had clearly stated that passing the TET is only one of the eligibility criteria, in Tamil Nadu it is treated as a competitive examination for recruitment of teachers.
"Only in Tamil Nadu, reservation is not followed in TET, which is given extra importance as a competitive examination," a senior education department official who is closely associated with SC/ST welfare association said. Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Bihar among others have extended the reservation benefits to TET.
In Andhra Pradesh, the pass percentage in TET for OBC is 50% and for SC/ST and physically handicapped is 40%. In Assam, 5% relaxation is given for candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC and persons with disability (PWD). Though reservation is followed in National Eligibility Test (NET) and State Eligibility Test (SET), reservation policy of the state government is yet to make footsteps in TET.
A copy of the NCTE order available with TOI reads as follows: "May consider giving concessions to persons belonging to SC/ST, OBC, differently-abled persons, etc., in accordance with their extant reservation policy."
Activists and academicians citing the order say that failure to extend the benefits of reservation in TET by the state government is in violation of the constitution of India and demanded that the issue should be addressed immediately
News Source : Times of India Epaper TNN Apr 8, 2013, 01.17AM IST
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To know about TET examination , visit - http://www.ncte-india.org/RTE-TET-guidelines[1]%20(latest).pdf
