Supreme Court Relief for Two Teachers Dismissed Over TET Qualification
On Friday, the Supreme Court of India delivered a significant judgment offering relief to two assistant teachers from Uttar Pradesh who were dismissed in 2018 for not having passed the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) at the time of their appointment. The apex court overturned the dismissal orders and directed the state government to reinstate the teachers immediately, noting that both individuals had subsequently cleared the TET within the statutory grace period.
The case had earlier been heard by the Allahabad High Court, which declined to grant relief. However, a bench comprising Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran accepted the appeal filed by the teachers—Umakant and another—against the High Court’s decision. The Supreme Court observed that the teachers had fulfilled the requirement of passing the TET by March 31, 2019, as mandated, and therefore their dismissal was unjustified.
The court emphasized that the teachers had acquired the mandatory qualification within the extended timeframe provided under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act). The two teachers had been appointed as assistant teachers at Bhutir Jwala Prasad Tiwari Junior High School in Kanpur Nagar based on a recruitment advertisement published in July 2011. They joined their posts on March 17, 2012. The first TET exam in Uttar Pradesh was held on November 13, 2011. One of the appellants passed the exam in November 2011, while the other cleared it in May 2014.
Despite having cleared the TET within the grace period, their services were terminated by the Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) due to the absence of the certificate at the time of appointment. During the hearing, Chief Justice Gavai remarked that it was difficult to understand how the appellants could be considered unqualified at the time of dismissal when they had undeniably passed the TET by March 24, 2014.
This ruling sets a precedent for similar cases and reinforces the principle that qualifications obtained within a legally defined grace period must be recognized. The Supreme Court’s directive for immediate reinstatement marks a victory for the affected teachers and underscores the importance of procedural fairness in employment matters.
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