BMC terminates services of 130 teachers for failing to comply with TET criterion

The termination orders were issued a day before schools started summer vacation on May 1. According to the orders, these teachers had to comply with the TET mandate until March 2019 and their services were terminated for failing to do so.

“The decision is taken as per the state and central government guidelines giving March 2019 as the deadline for teachers to clear the TET exam. These teachers have had several chances since 2013 but they have failed in meeting the criterion,” said Rajesh Kankal, Education Officer (primary) at BMC who has issued the orders. Kankal shared that the focus is now on filling the vacuum this will create in teaching positions.

Advocate Sanjeev Deore, who is representing the terminated teachers in the Bombay High Court, which has given a status quo until the next hearing, said, “After the TET mandate was introduced by the Centre in 2010, teachers had nine years to comply as per the deadline of 2019. Whereas in Maharashtra, TET mandate was implemented only in 2013, leaving only six years for these teachers to comply. There are several such lacunae in implementation of the mandate by the state government due to which now the teachers are suffering.” The HC status quo, as Deore explained, is valid for those teachers who have yet not received the termination order officially. These teachers will continue work until court rules in the matter.

There are many teachers among these 130 who cleared TET in 2019, but not before March that year. “This result has to be considered valid as in the year 2019, TET was held only after March,” shared one of the affected teachers.

According to sources, apart from this situation in Mumbai district, “There may be more such cases across different districts, taking the number of affected teachers to a few thousands. If all are terminated, it will be a major blow to school education right after the pandemic,” said the official.