'Cannot continue indefinitely': Supreme Court extends TET deadline till August 2028

Supreme Court on Friday said clearing the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) is mandatory for in-service teachers and extended the deadline to pass the exam till August 31, 2028, for them to continue in service.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan dismissed more than 65 review petitions filed by state governments, teachers’ associations and individual teachers against the court’s earlier ruling in the Anjuman Ishaat-e-Taleem Trust case.

The petitioners had challenged the 2025 judgment which said in-service teachers appointed before the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, and having more than five years left before retirement, must clear TET within two years from September 1, 2025.

While refusing to change its earlier stand, the court extended the deadline by one more year. “TET examination must be conducted by the relevant authorities expeditiously as well as the time and resources required for the same are limited, we alter and extend the timeline from 2 to 3 years,” the bench said. The court clarified that teachers must now obtain the qualification by August 31, 2028, instead of August 31, 2027.

The bench also made it clear that no further extension would be granted.

Rejecting the argument that the rule amounted to retrospective application of the law, the court said the RTE Act clearly required even in-service teachers to acquire minimum qualifications within a fixed timeframe.

“The legislature intended the in-service teachers to also meet the prescribed minimum threshold,” the court said.

The Supreme Court also ruled that exemptions given through notifications or subordinate legislation by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) could not override the parent law.

The bench said allowing teachers without TET qualification to continue indefinitely would affect the quality of education. “Service of teachers cannot come at the cost of educational future of the children,” the court observed.

The petitioners had argued that teachers appointed before the RTE Act and the 2011 amendment to the NCTE Act should not be forced to clear TET midway through their careers. They also said enforcing the rule could lead to a large number of teachers losing jobs and disrupt schooling.

Acknowledging these concerns, the court said a practical approach was needed for continuity in elementary education. However, it stressed that the law was child-centric and focused on ensuring quality education.

The court also directed states and competent authorities to hold TET exams regularly, preferably twice a year with a gap of around six months, so eligible teachers get enough opportunities to qualify.