TET and DSC merger : Decision in a week

A decision on whether to merge the Teacher Eligibility Test and the DSC is likely to be taken this week. The issue which has been hanging fire for over a year created a lot of tension among lakh of unemployed aspiring teachers in the state. Though the state government is favorably inclined to merge both the exams, it wanted to create a level-playing field beforehand, which appeared to be rather complex as per the indications available from top sources.

TET is being held as per the guidelines prescribed by the Union government. It is mandatory according to Right to Education Act. The NCTE (National Council for Teacher Education) has clearly formulated some dos and don'ts for the exam. According to NCTE, the rationale for including the TET as a minimum qualification for a person to be eligible for appointment as a teacher is (1) It would bring national standards and benchmark of teacher quality in the recruitment process; (2) It would induce teacher education institutions and students from these institutions to further improve their performance standards; (3) It would send a positive signal to all stakeholders that the Government lays special emphasis on teacher quality.

But the state government has been holding DSC for recruitment of teachers for the past several years. Student unions have been opposing the dual exam for a single post and demanding the government to do away with TET as it was felt somewhat tough.

Those who want to become teachers in government schools in the state should write both TET and DSC and 20 percent of TET score is added to DSC marks. The TET score is valid for seven years. This is the rule which has come as a block for the merger, according to Minister for Secondary Education K Parthasarathy. "If we merge both the exams, what happened to all those who have passed TET, scored well and eagerly awaiting for next round of DSC announcement? If we deny them a chance, then definitely they will knock the doors of court and the entire process would come to a halt" he explained. So, to avoid any legal complications, we have been studying all aspects and I will discuss the issue with all the concerned and arrive at a conclusion, he added.

Government has sent a committee of officials to Tamil Nadu recently to study the merger issue. The panel has learnt to have submitted a report which is said to be negated the proposal.A There are more than two-and-lakh aspirants who have already cleared the TET. They demand only TET should be taken as a yardstick for appointments and not the DSC. Since TET is a standard examination and more than 16 states have been following it, that test should become the criterion, they argued.

Going by the signals from various quarters, government may not go in for a merger immediately since it would open up a Pandora box. No experimentation will be done in this election year, according to sources. If at all the government wants to do, it will have to allot a chunk for the TET pass outs, whichA More than 21,000 teacher posts are to be filled up and the Government is planning to hold next DSC in October this year.