Srinagar, Sept 5: Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister Sakina Itoo on Saturday said the government will move a resolution in the upcoming Assembly session seeking support on the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) issue amid concerns among in-service teachers following a Supreme Court ruling making the test mandatory.
Itoo said the government has already approached the Supreme Court with a review petition seeking reconsideration of its order requiring all in-service teachers of primary and upper-primary classes to qualify the TET.
“The teachers are in a lot of depression. The children's education is being disturbed. When a teacher is mentally disturbed, how can he teach children?” Itoo said.
She stressed that the issue was not simply about appearing for an examination but also concerned the dignity and honour of teachers.
“For us, the most important thing is that the test doesn't matter. This is a matter of a teacher's honour,” the minister said, adding that teachers who prepare millions of children for examinations should not be placed under such pressure.
Itoo said the government would seek the Assembly's backing on the matter.
“After the Assembly begins, I will bring a resolution. We will get that resolution passed in the majority, so that the teachers who are depressed can come out of their depression and teach children properly,” she said.
The issue follows the Supreme Court's May 29 ruling that made clearing the TET mandatory for in-service teachers. The court, however, allowed such teachers time until August 31, 2028, to qualify the examination and continue in service.
The ruling has caused concern among a large section of in-service teachers in Jammu and Kashmir, who have been seeking relief from the mandatory TET requirement.
Last week, the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution urging the Union Government to grant a full and permanent exemption from the TET to government school teachers appointed before August 23, 2010.
