HC stays proceedings against non-TET qualified teachers

Madras High Court today stayed an education department order cancelling appointment of teachers made after November 15, 2011, as they had not passed the Teachers' Eligibility Test (TET).
The interim order was passed by Justice S Nagamuthu of Madurai Bench of the High Court on a batch of petitions by teachers appointed to various government-aided schools across the state between April 1, 2010 and August 26, 2012.
They challenged the November 7 impugned proceeding of the Director of School Education instructing the District Chief Educational Officers to cancel the approval order of the appointment of all teachers made on or after November 15, 2011, without the TET qualification.

Petitioners' counsels Lajapathy Roy and Isaac Mohanlal said Section 23 of the RTE Act passed by Parliament in March 2010, prescribed TET as an essential qualification for appointment as teachers.
TET was conducted for the first time on July 12, 2012 and results were published on August 26, 2012. Thus, between April 2010 and August, 26, 2012, there would not have been any teacher eligible for the post in the state as per the act.
They submitted that several teachers were appointed by the government in the interregnum period, since the schools were in dire need of teachers.

A grace period of five years was given to teachers appointed between April 1, 2010 and November 15, 2011 to pass the TET while appointments made after that would be affected, which is a clear discrimination in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution.

Hearing the arguments, Justice Nagamuthu said, "I am unable to understand as to why when such allowance has been given to those teachers appointed prior to November 15, 2011, the same has not been extended to those teachers, who were subsequently appointed between November 15, 2011 and August 26, 2012."
The Judge said the interim order shall not cover the cases of those teachers appointed after August 26, 2012.