States » NorthPosted at: Sep 24 2026 2:22PM


J&K Assembly unanimously passes resolution seeking TET exemption for pre-2019 teachers

Srinagar, Sep 24 (UNI) The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution urging the union Government to amend the Right to Education (RTE) Act to exempt teachers appointed before October 31, 2019, from appearing in the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET).
J&K has become second state/ UT after Tamil Nadu which in August adopted a resolution in Assembly to exempt government teachers from clearing the mandatory TET to retain their positions.
The resolution was moved by J&K Minister for School Education Sakeena Itoo in the House on Tuesday, and was taken up for discussion before being passed unanimously on Thursday.
The resolution urged the union Government to make the necessary statutory amendment to Section 23 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, to exempt all teachers appointed before October 31, 2019, from appearing in the TET. It also called upon the union Government to take all necessary legal steps and issue the requisite notification through the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) to provide the proposed exemption.
Speaking in the House, Itoo thanked members for supporting the resolution and said the issue had received the attention of legislators across the political spectrum.
"I know that the entire House, whether it is on this side or that side, is in agreement that this resolution should be passed," she said.
She said the Supreme Court had already directed that teachers across the country, including those in Jammu and Kashmir, should appear for the TET.
The minister said the government had already explored the legal option, stating that the Chief Minister, who also holds the Law portfolio, had directed that an appeal be made before the Supreme Court against the requirement, arguing that the test was not appropriate or fair for the affected teachers.
"The Education Department has already used that option," she said.
Itoo said Jammu and Kashmir was among the few regions to have taken up the matter through a legislative resolution, describing it as an effort to convey the concerns of teachers to the union Government.
She said the issue was not about the ability of teachers to clear an examination but about their dignity and the service they had rendered over the years.
"I am not saying that our thousands of teachers cannot give exams. Those teachers have already reached here after seeing a lot of exams," she said.
The minister said many of the teachers had spent years teaching students, some of whom had gone on to become doctors, engineers, civil servants and professionals.
She argued that requiring such teachers to undergo another eligibility test after years of service could affect their dignity and morale.
Itoo appealed to members, including those from the BJP, to support the resolution unanimously so that it could be forwarded to the union Government for consideration.
"We will pass this resolution in the majority and all the Members will vote for it. I appeal BJP members that we have to send this resolution to the union Government and the union Government has to decide. The Honorable Law Minister should go to the Supreme Court and say that all the teachers in the country are right, they all know that they can pass the test, but it is a question of their honour and dignity," she said.
The resolution was subsequently put to the House and passed unanimously by voice vote.
The passage of the resolution now places the request before the union Government for consideration and necessary action regarding the proposed exemption under the RTE Act.
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