Tripura urges Centre for relaxing norms to recruit over 12,000 teachers

The BJP government in Tripura has urged the Centre for one-time relaxation in academic and other qualifications to facilitate recruitment of 12,222 teachers to overcome their shortage in the state, an official said on Saturday.

Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb met the Prime Minister's Principal Secretary Nripendra Mishra on Friday in New Delhi and took up the state's six demands, including recruitment of teachers.

"Deb told Mishra that if the Human Resource Development Ministry did not relax the academic and other qualifications of teachers as laid down by the NCTE (National Council For Teacher Education) the state would not be able to recruit 12,222 teachers," the official posted in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) here said.

According to the Right of the Child to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act of 2009 and NCTE guidelines, Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) is mandatory for recruitment of teachers in government schools.

To appear for the TET, the candidate ought to have 50 per cent marks in certain subjects and a Bachelor's degree or Diploma in Elementary Education or Diploma in Education.

The HRD Ministry had earlier relaxed the minimum qualification norms for teachers, as notified by the NCTE, for Assam and West Bengal.

The teachers' recruitment was a key political issue ahead of the February 18 Assembly elections in Tripura as the Supreme Court had upheld a Tripura High Court verdict to terminate the services of 10,323 government teachers on the ground of discrepancies during the rule of Left Front government.

The official said that the Chief Minister also sought additional central financial support to fulfil promises made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before the Assembly polls.

Deb also discussed the Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the murder of two Tripura journalists and fraudulent activities of unrecognised chit funds and illegal non-banking financial institutions.

The Chief Minister demanded the setting up of a central agricultural university and AIIMS-like institute in Tripura.

--IANS

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