Tamil Nadu Primary School Teachers’ Federation on Monday threatened to launch a protest if the salaries for the 1,500 teachers, who did not qualify Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) was stopped.

The Directorate of School Education recently issued a letter to stop the salaries of 1,500 teachers in government aided schools who joined the service in 2010 as they failed to clear TET. Citing provisions of the Right to Education Act, the directorate decided in 2012 that all teachers who joined after October 23, 2010 must clear TET.

Addressing the media after their State executive committee meeting here on Monday, S. Mayil, general secretary of the federation, however, blamed the government for the teachers’ failure to clear the examination since enough number of TETs were not conducted in the last eight years.

Moreover, the federation said that it was unfair to stop the salaries and threaten to dismiss them when they have discharged their duties well in the past eight years. It demanded that an exemption be provided to these 1,500 teachers from clearing TET.

The federation demanded that all the punitive actions and cases filed against those participated in the recent democratic protests organised by Joint Action Council of Tamil Nadu Teachers Organisations and Government Employees Organisations (JACTTO-GEO) be withdrawn.

M. Manimekalai, State president of the federation, and K. Ochukalai, Madurai district secretary, spoke.