HC issues notice to Punjab govt for not conducting TET

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued contempt notice to the Punjab government for not conducting the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) this year.
The notice was issued by Justice Daya Chaudhary for December 12 to Punjab's Education Secretary Krishan Kumar and Director Public Instructions for Secondary Education Paramjit Singh on a petition by Anju Rani and others.
The petitioners contended that according to the guidelines issued by the NCTE (National Council for Teachers Education), it was necessary for the state government to conduct the Punjab State Teachers Eligibility Test (PSTET) at least once in a year.
The PSTET is a pre-condition for appointment as a teacher in a government school, if the candidate qualifies the test and possesses the other requisite qualifications, they contended.

They said that in an affidavit filed by the then director education in 2014, an undertaking was given that in future the state government shall conduct the PSTET at least once in a year.
The petitioners, through their counselHari Chand Arora, said that as the PSTET was held last year on September 25, it was under legal obligation to hold the test on or before September 25 this year, but it was not conducted.
The counsel claimed that the respondents had advertised around 3,600 posts for the Masters cadre for subjects such as Punjabi, Hindi, English, SST, Science, and Maths, but as the test was not conducted, the respondents' careers have received serious set back.