Once a certified teacher is always a certified teacher. This is what seems to be the government’s new position on the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET). So if you are one of those who joined the stream of the teachers after February 2011, you need not worry about clearing the test again after the 7-year validity period, to get the certificate that was mandatory earlier to continue the teaching jobs in the Indian government schools. The rules have changed now.
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ announced today that the government has decided to extend the validity period of the Teachers Eligibility Test qualifying certificate from 7 years to a lifetime. The changes will be implemented with retrospective effect from 2011.
The respective State Govts and UTs will take necessary action to revalidate/issue fresh TET certificates to those candidates whose period of 7 years has already elapsed, Ramesh Pokhriyal added.
The Union Minister said this will be a positive step in increasing the employment opportunities for candidates aspiring to make a career in the teaching field.
It is important to note that the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) in its 50th meeting of the general body in 2020 had approved the extension of the TET certificate validity from 7 years to a lifetime.
The guidelines which underwent change today were issued by NCTE on 11 February 2011.
What is TET and why is its validity extended?
Teacher Eligibility Test is one of the essential qualifications for a person to be eligible for appointment as a teacher for Class I to VIII in government schools. The TET is conducted both by the central and state governments of India.
The test conducted by the Centre is called CTET. Candidates must score a minimum of 60% to become CTET Qualified. Successful candidates become eligible to apply for recruitment as teachers of Classes I to VIII in schools under the purview of the Central Government.
The CBSE has been conducting CTET twice a year, while the states/UTs have their own frequencies of conducting the test (TET). Every year hundreds of thousands of aspirants from different parts of the country appeared for these tests but due to the current COVID situation in the country, the examinations have been postponed repeatedly.
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