TN Minister to lead teachers’ delegation to Delhi seeking relief from SC’s TET order

Chennai: Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi has announced that he will take representatives of teachers’ associations to meet Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Delhi to seek relief from the Supreme Court’s recent judgment that made the Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET) mandatory for all in-service teachers handling Classes 1 to 8.

He said discussions are underway within the State government, and he will meet Chief Minister M. K. Stalin to finalise the way forward.

Teachers’ association leaders said the minister, along with MP P. Wilson, is also exploring the possibility of introducing state-level legislation that would exempt in-service teachers from the TET requirement.

They added that the minister has assured them that the DMK will raise the matter in Parliament to highlight the concerns of thousands of teachers affected by the ruling.

In Chennai, the minister held an extended consultation with more than 55 representatives from various teachers’ associations at the Professor Anbazhagan Education Complex in Nungambakkam, in the presence of senior officials of the School Education Department.

The meeting was convened nearly a month after the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) issued a notification on November 19 announcing a special TET for in-service teachers, which was withdrawn the same day following widespread opposition.

Sources indicated that teachers’ associations are likely to press for legislation exempting teachers currently working in government and government-aided schools from the mandatory test when they meet the Union minister.

Meanwhile, the state government has already filed a review petition before the Supreme Court seeking reconsideration of the judgment.

During the consultation, teachers’ bodies put forward multiple demands aimed at easing the impact of the order. These include reducing the qualifying marks for TET, allowing Secondary Grade Teachers to appear for TET Paper II (required for graduate teacher posts), awarding weightage marks based on years of experience, and ensuring that SCERT provides structured training to help teachers prepare for the test.

They also sought an assurance that a larger share of questions should be drawn from the subjects they actually teach in classrooms.

With thousands of in-service teachers apprehensive about the implications of the Supreme Court verdict, the State government’s efforts to pursue both legislative and administrative remedies are expected to play a key role in shaping the next phase of the issue.