Kashmir Impulse Desk

Srinagar, May 4 

Education Minister Sakina Itoo on Monday said the government would explore legal options to support in-service Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) teachers required to clear the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) under recent Supreme Court directions.

The remarks follow an order by the Supreme Court of India directing the J&K administration to issue appointment orders to candidates selected under the now-defunct ReT scheme, while mandating that appointees acquire minimum qualifications, including passing TET, within three years and a maximum of three attempts.

The court asked the government to complete the appointment process within eight weeks, offering relief to candidates whose recruitment had been stalled since the scheme was discontinued in November 2018.

The ruling applies to candidates appointed under the scheme after Aug. 23, 2010, who do not yet meet qualification norms set by the National Council for Teacher Education.

Itoo said the government would file a writ petition seeking relief for in-service teachers affected by the order.

“It does not look appropriate to ask teachers who have been teaching for over a decade to appear for exams,” she said, adding that the administration would support them as it does other government employees.

The minister said the department would work on a mechanism to address the concerns of affected teachers, many of whom have expressed anxiety over the requirement.

“These teachers have been conducting examinations for students for years, and now they are being asked to sit for exams themselves,” she said.

The issue will be taken up within the department for further deliberation, Itoo said.