Now, get TET for that teaching job

Updated on: Wednesday, March 16, 2011

In a bid to improve the quality of education and teachers, the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has now made it mandatory for those applying for teaching jobs to appear for the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET).

The much-awaited TET will be introduced from this academic year.

Earlier, it was mandatory for a teacher to complete a BEd or DEd course for a teaching job. But now, apart from that, they will also have to clear the TET to be eligible for a career in teaching.

Recently, the NCTE issued a circular, a copy of which is with Mumbai Mirror, stating that all candidates applying for teaching posts in Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), government, aided and unaided schools will now have to clear TET.

RATIONALE BEHIND TET

The rationale for including the TET as a minimum qualification for a person to be eligible as a teacher is that it will set national standards and benchmark of teacher quality in the recruitment process.

“It will also give positive signals to all the stakeholders that the government lays special emphasis on teacher quality” said a member secretary of NCTE.

ELIGIBILITY AND TEST PATTERN

The TET will consist of two papers covering subjects such as Child Development and Pedagogy, Language 1, Language 2, Mathematics and Environmental Studies.

A teacher teaching Math, Science or Social Sciences will have to give the test of the respective subject. Each paper will depend on the class and post that the candidate is applying for. The test will have multiple-select questions and each format will be of 30 marks each.

For example, a teacher, who wants to teach from Standard I to V will have to appear for a paper different from those applying for a teaching job from Std VI to VIII. The test will be of 90 minutes duration and have 150 objective questions. To qualify, teachers will have to score a minimum of 60 per cent. CBSE schools will have an option of either conducting the test by the Central board or follow the pattern set by the state board.

Expressing her views about the new rule, Deepika Shrivasta, principal of Rajhans Vidyalaya said, “Mostly when people fail to get jobs, they pick up teaching jobs. This will keep a check and only those people who have the aptitude and liking will get selected based on their knowledge.”

Now, get TET for that teaching job

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