Supreme Court gives time to other teachers till August 2028 to get TET qualification

The Supreme Court further directed the states and relevant authorities to conduct the TET regularly, preferably twice a year, with a period of approximately six months between consecutive examinations. File | Photo credit: The Hindu

The Supreme Court on Friday (May 29, 2026) granted a one-year extension to teachers currently in service to take the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), keeping in mind the importance of ensuring continuity in children’s basic education. The original deadline for the TET qualification for teachers was 31 August 2027, now it has been extended to 31 August 2028.

The limited relief for additional teachers without TET qualification came in a series of review petitions against the September 1, 2025 judgment that set the original deadline.

The court further directed states and relevant authorities to conduct the TET regularly, preferably twice a year, with a period of approximately six months between consecutive examinations, so that eligible teachers have a reasonable opportunity to meet the statutory requirement.

‘No more extensions’

The court has made it “quite clear” that it will not entertain any requests by teachers for further extension of time to acquire TET qualification.

Justice Dipankar Datta, who authored the judgment, noted that more than one-and-a-half decades have passed since the Right to Education (RTE) Act mandated TET qualification for teachers.

“A period of 15 years could be considered more than enough time for a teacher to qualify for TET,” Justice Datta said.

“The future of children at stake”

Rejecting the plea that continued insistence on TET would drive several thousand teachers out of service, the Supreme Court said allowing unqualified educators to continue their work would affect the educational future of generations to come.

“The RTE Act is a child-centric piece of legislation and must be read as such. The service of teachers cannot be at the expense of the educational future of children,” reasoned Justice Datta.

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The court said the limited relief of an extended deadline to August 31, 2028 was a step to balance these concerns.

“While the TET qualification requirement cannot be relaxed in its rigour, we cannot remain oblivious to the practical implications that may arise if a significant number of teachers in employment are at risk due to possible job loss within a shortened time frame, adversely affecting the functioning of schools and more importantly, equity in education,” Datta acknowledges as a whole.

A time bound mechanism

The court rejected the argument of the petitioners, represented by several lawyers including advocate Tomy Chacko, that the TET qualification mandated by the RTE Act cannot be implemented retrospectively.

“It neither retroactively cancels past appointments, nor does it visit existing teachers with immediate disqualification. On the contrary, both the original law and its amendment (in 2017) are based on legislative recognition of existing appointments and at the same time establish a time-limited mechanism for ensuring minimum qualifications in the greater interest of maintaining standards in basic education,” the court said.

The court said that the strictness of the TET qualification cannot be held to impose a new condition of service.

“We sympathize with the teachers who appear as petitioners for the revisions because they might be facing the difficulties they have pointed out. However, a perceived sense of uncertainty is not a sufficient reason for the court to revisit the matter,” the court said.

Published – 29 May 2026 22:51 IST