The September 2025 judgment reasoned that the Right to Education (RTE) Act of 2009, which had been implemented since 2010, required teachers to pass the TET. | Photo credit: The Hindu
The Supreme Court on Wednesday (May 13, 2026) urged teachers not to be “self-centered” and not only think of their job security, but spare a thought for children who need quality education, a right protected by the Constitution and the Right to Education Act.
The court’s oral remarks came while hearing a series of petitions filed by the states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh and teachers’ associations from West Bengal and Kerala seeking a review of the September 2025 judgment requiring Class 1 to Class 8 teachers in non-minority schools across the country to pass the Teacher Retirement Eligibility Test (TET) in two years.
Tamil Nadu claimed that the judgment affected about four lakh teachers in the state alone. If it were to be implemented in practice, the state would have to testify about “classrooms without teachers”, he argued.
“The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (Right to Education Act. 2009) is there for children. Don’t be self-centered and say that I will get orders from the court only to protect my security of tenure, but I will not think about the children,” Justice Dipankar Datta, heading a bench comprising Justice Manmohan, told the review petitioners.
Justice Datta referred to Section 23(2) of the 2009 Act, which gave teachers five years to obtain the “compulsory” TET qualification in the event of a shortage of trained teachers and inadequacy of teacher training institutions.
The judge drew attention to the second proviso to Section 23(2), which was inserted in the 2017 amendment to the Act. It gave further leeway by allowing teachers appointed or in office as at 31 March 2015 who do not have the required minimum academic qualification to obtain it within four years.
Retrospective application
Additional Solicitor General Vikramjit Banerjee for Uttar Pradesh, Senior Advocates AM Singhvi, Rakesh Dwivedi for Madhya Pradesh and other advocates, including Tomy Chacko for Deseeya Adhyapaka Parishad (NTU Kerala), said that the retroactive application of the TET requirement to their employment violated the rights of experienced teachers who were already in employment.
Justice Manmohan said the court had only strengthened the statutory minimum qualification requirement, which was the TET certificate, for teachers.
“Higher education is required to get better teachers. If a child doesn’t get a quality education, how will they improve?” Justice Manmohan asked the petitioners.
The court reserved review grounds for the decision.
The case affects the livelihood of more than 25 million teachers. The September 2025 judgment reasoned that the Right to Education (RTE) Act of 2009, which had been implemented since 2010, required teachers to pass the TET. However, the Bench exempted teachers who have less than five years of retirement from taking the TET.
Published – 13 May 2026 22:52 IST
