New Delhi: The central government informed the Lok Sabha on Monday that the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) is the mandatory minimum qualification for appointment as a teacher in schools covered under the RTE Act, as directed by the Supreme Court. Eligible teachers will have to qualify the TET within the stipulated timeframe.
Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, said that the Supreme Court, in its September 1, 2025, judgment, had included the TET in the minimum qualifications prescribed under Section 23 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. The court had directed eligible teachers to pass the TET within the stipulated timeframe.
Later, on 29 May 2026, while disposing of the review petitions, the Supreme Court extended the deadline for acquiring the TET qualification from 31 August 2027 to 31 August 2028. The court asked the concerned governments and authorities to endeavour to conduct the TET regularly, preferably twice a year, so that eligible teachers get adequate opportunity to acquire the minimum qualification.
The Supreme Court also took into account the practical difficulties faced by serving teachers appointed before the RTE Act came into force and who had less than five years left for retirement. Under Article 142 of the Constitution, the court allowed such teachers to continue serving until retirement age without qualifying for the TET.
However, the court clarified that such teachers would not be eligible for promotion without qualifying the TET. Education is a subject in the Concurrent List, and matters relating to the recruitment, service conditions, and deployment of teachers fall within the administrative jurisdiction of the respective state governments and union territories.