conducting of Teacher Eligibility Test(TET) – Orders – Issued. School Education (C2) Department G.O.(Ms) No.181 Dated: 15.11.2011

ABSTRACT

School Education – The Right of Children to Free and compulsory Education 

Act(RTE)-2009  conducting of Teacher Eligibility Test(TET) – Orders – Issued. 

School Education (C2) Department

G.O.(Ms) No.181      Dated:  15.11.2011

                    ÂUtŸSt® M©L 2042  

                                                                      I¥gÁ-29 

        Read: 

1. G.O.Ms.No.220, School Education(S2)Department 

 Dated: 10.11.2008. 

2. Government Letter No.15152/C2/2006-9, Dated: 9.10.2006. 

3. From the National Council for Teacher Education,  New Delhi, Letter 

No.76-4/2010/NCTE/Acad, Dated 11.2.2011 

------ 

ORDER:

   

 The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 was 

enacted by the Parliament in 2009 to provide for free and compulsory education 

to all children of the age of 6-14 years. The Act was published in the Gazette of 

India on 27

th

 August 2009.  Subsequently, the said Act was republished by the 

Government of Tamil Nadu in the  Tamil Nadu Government Gazette on 24

th

February 2010.  The said Act came into force with effect from 1

st

 April 2010. 

 2. As per sub-section (1) of section 23 of the Right of Children to Free 

and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE) the National Council for Teacher 

Education (NCTE) has been appointed  as the Academic Authority by 

Government of India.  The said Academic Authority has indicated to all the States 

that the teachers to be recruited in future for the elementary segment should 

have passed the  "Teacher Eligibility Test"(TET) to be conducted by the 

appropriate Government in accordance  with the guidelines framed by the 

National Council for Teacher Education for the purpose. 

  3. The said section clearly specifies that teachers who at the 

commencement of this Act, do not possess minimum qualifications as prescribed 

by the Academic Authority  authorized by the Central Government shall acquire - 2 -

such minimum qualifications within a period of 5 years.  Hence, the "Teacher 

Eligibility Test (TET)" would have to be conducted for recruiting teachers for the 

primary and upper primary classes.  The  teachers working in unaided private 

schools are required to pass Teacher Eligibility Test within 5 years.  In the State 

of Tamil Nadu, Secondary Grade Teachers (those teaching classes I to V) are 

required to have minimum qualifications of D.T.Ed. and Graduate Assistants (BT 

Assistant) (those teaching classes VI to VIII) are required to have minimum 

qualification of B.Ed.  They should also pass Teacher Eligibility Test forthwith.   

4. However, with the passing of the RTE Act, it is now mandatory for all 

the State Governments to recruit Secondary Grade and BT teachers only by 

conducting a Teacher Eligibility Test. 

 5. In the G.O.1

st

 read above, orders have been issued as directed by 

the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India on 20.8.2008 in SLP (c) No.18227 – 

18228/2008 that the State Government should followed the Statewide seniority in 

employment registration while appointing Secondary Grade Teachers by calling 

for the list of eligible persons from all the District Employment Exchanges and by 

newspaper Public Advertisements throughout the State.  The Supreme Court has 

further directed that the aforesaid arrangement will apply for any recruitment to 

be made pending disposal of these appeals. 

 6. In the Government letter 2

nd

 read above, the Government changed the 

recruitment policy in 2006-07 for recruiting Graduate Assistants, from written 

examination to  Statewide registration seniority  in Employment Exchange. 

7. The Government carefully examined on the lines of the orders of 

Supreme Court of India in SLP(c) No.18227- 18228 dated 20.8.2008 and 

National Council for Teacher Education guidelines and issue the following orders 

in respect of change of policy for    recruitment of Secondary Grade and B.T 

Teachers. 

i. In respect of Secondary Grade Teachers, the statewide seniority in 

Employment Exchange Registration  will continue to be followed till 

the disposal of the SLP filed in the Supreme Court of India. 

ii. In respect of Graduate Assistants (B.T.Teachers recruited by TRB 

for the Classes VI to X) in all middle schools, High/Higher Secondary 

Schools, selection through written examinations ("Teacher Eligibility 

Test” ) in accordance with the guidelines framed by National Council 

for Teacher Education and certificate verification, will be followed. 

iii  The Teachers Recruitment Board  is designate as the Nodal Agency 

for conducting of Teacher Eligibility Test and recruitment of 

Teachers. - 3 -

8. Guidelines for conducting Teacher Eligibility Test is enclosed in the 

Annexure  to the Government Order. 

    //By Order of Governor// 

                                                         T.S.Sridhar 

Additional Chief Secretary to Government 

To 

The Director of School Education , Chennai-6. 

The Director of Elementary Education , Chennai-6. 

The Director of Matriculation Schools, Chennai-6. 

The Principal Secretary/State Project Director, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, 

Chennai-6. 

The Director of Teacher Education, Research and Training, Chennai-06. 

ion,Chennai-6. 

The Director of Government Examinations, Chennai-6. 

The Chairman, Teachers Recruitment Board, Chennai-6. 

The Member Secretary / Joint Director,  

Advisory Committee (RTE), Chennai-6. 

Copy to :

The Chief Minister Office, Chennai-9. 

The Public (SC) Department, Chennai-9. 

The Senior Personal Assistant  to Hon’ble Minister, School Education,  

Sports and Youth Welfare, Chennai-9. 

The Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department, Chennai-9. 

The Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes &Minorities Welfare 

                            Department, Chennai -9 

The Social Welfare & Nutritious Meal Programme Department, Chennai-9 

The Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department, Chennai-9. 

//Forwarded by Order// 

                                                                   Section Officer - 4 -

ANNEXURE TO G.O(MS) NO.181, SCHOOL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT 

DATED 15.11.2011

Guidelines for conducting Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) 

Background and Rationale: 

.  

The implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education 

(RTE) Act, 2009 requires the recruitment of a large  number of teachers across 

the country in a time bound manner. Inspite  of the enormity of the task, it is 

desirable to ensure that quality requirement for recruitment of teachers are not 

diluted at any cost. It is therefore necessary to ensure that persons recruited as 

teachers possess the essential aptitude and ability to meet the challenges of 

teaching at the primary and upper primary level. 

2.  In accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 23 of the 

Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, the 

National Council for Teacher Education  (NCTE) has laid down the minimum 

qualifications for a person to be eligible for appointment as a teacher in class I to 

VIII, vide its Notification dated August 23,  2010. A copy of the Notification is 

attached at Annexure 1. One of the essential qualifications for a person to be 

eligible for appointment as a teacher in any of the schools referred to in clause 

(n) of section 2 of the RTE Act is that he/she should pass the Teacher Eligibility 

Test (TET) which will be conducted by the appropriate Government. 

3.  The rationale for including the  TET as a minimum qualification for a 

person to be eligible for appointment as a teacher is as under: 

i. It would bring national standards and benchmark of teacher quality in the 

recruitment process; 

ii. It would induce teacher education institutions and students from these 

institutions to further improve their performance standards; 

iii. It would send a positive signal to all stakeholders that the Government 

lays special emphasis on teacher quality 

4. The TET examination  may be conducted by a  suitable professional 

body designated by the appropriate Government for the purpose. It will 

be conducted in accordance with the Guidelines hereunder.  

Eligibility 

5.    The following persons shall be eligible for appearing in the TET: - 5 -

i. A person who has acquired the academic and professional qualifications 

specified in the NCTE Notification dated 23rd August 2010. 

ii. A person who is pursuing any  of the teacher education courses 

(recognized by the NCTE or the RCI, as the case may be) specified in the NCTE 

Notification dated 23rd August 2010. 

iii. The eligibility condition for appearing in TET may be relaxed in respect 

of a 3 State/UT which  has been granted relaxation  under sub-section (2) of 

section 23 of the RTE Act. The relaxation will be specified in the Notification 

issued by the Central Government under that sub-section.  

Structure and Content of TET 

6.   The structure and content of the TET is given in the following 

paragraphs. All questions will be Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), each 

carrying one mark, with four alternatives out of which one answer will be correct. 

There will be no negative marking. The examining body should strictly adhere to 

the structure and content of the TET specified below. 

7.   There will be two papers of the TET. Paper I will be for a person who 

intends to be a teacher for classes I to V. Paper II will be for a person who 

intends to be a teacher for classes VI to VIII. A person who intends to be a 

teacher either for classes I to V or for classes VI to VIII will have to appear in 

both papers (Paper I and Paper II).  

Paper I (for classes I to V); No. of MCQs – 150; 

Duration of examination: one-and-a-half hours 

Structure and Content (All Compulsory) 

(i) Child Development and Pedagogy    30 MCQs  30 Marks 

(ii) Language I       30  “  30   “ 

(iii) Language II       30  “  30   “ 

(iv) Mathematics       30  “  30   “ 

(v) Environmental Studies      30  “  30   “ 

Nature and standard of questions

While designing and preparing the questions for Paper I, the examining body 

shall take the following factors into consideration: 

•  The test items on Child Development and Pedagogy will focus on 

educational psychology of teaching and learning relevant to the age group of 6-

11 years. They will focus on understanding the characteristics and needs of 

diverse learners, interaction with learners and the attributes and qualities of a 

good facilitator of learning. - 6 -

• The Test items for Language I will focus on the proficiencies related to 

the medium of instruction, (as chosen from list of prescribed language options in 

the application form). 

• The Language II will be from among the  prescribed options other than 

Language I. A candidate may choose any  one language from the available 

language options and will be required to specify the same in the application form. 

The test items in Language II will also  focus on the elements of language, 

communication and comprehension abilities. 

• The test items in Mathematics and Environmental Studies will focus on 

the concepts, problem solving abilities and pedagogical understanding of the 

subjects. In all these subject areas, the test items shall be evenly distributed over 

different divisions of the syllabus of that subject prescribed for classes I–V by the 

appropriate Government. 

• The questions in the tests for Paper I will be based on the topics of the 

prescribed syllabus of the State for classes I–V, but their difficulty standard, as 

well as linkages, could be upto the secondary stage. 

Paper II (for classes VI to VIII); No. of MCQs – 150; 

Duration of examination : one-and-a-half hours 

Structure and Content 

(i) Child Development & Pedagogy (compulsory)        30 MCQs 30 Marks 

(ii) Language I (compulsory)                                        30 “           30 “ 

(iii) Language II (compulsory)                                      30 “           30 “ 

(iv) (a) For Mathematics and Science teacher : Mathematics and Science – 60  

MCQsof 1 mark each 

       (b) For Social studies teacher : Social Studies - 60 MCQs of 1 mark each 

       (c) for any other teacher – either 4(a) or 4(b) 

While designing and preparing the questions for Paper II, the examining body 

shall take the following factors into consideration: 

• The test items on Child Development and Pedagogy will focus on educational 

psychology of teaching and learning, relevant to the age group 11-14 years. They 

will focus on understanding the characteristics, needs and psychology of diverse 

learners, interaction with learners and the attributes and qualities of a good facilitator 

of learning. 

• The test items for Language I will focus on the proficiency related to the medium of 

instruction, as chosen from list of prescribed options in the application form. 

• The Language II will be a language other than Language I. The person may choose 

any one language from among the available options and as in the specified list in the 

application form and attempt questions in the one indicated by the candidate in the 

application form by him. The Test items in Language II will also focus on the 

elements of language, communication and comprehension abilities. - 7 -

• The test items in Mathematics and Science, and Social Studies will focus on the 

concepts, problem solving abilities and pedagogical understanding  of these 

subjects. The test items of Mathematics and Science will be of  30 marks each. The 

test items shall be evenly distributed over different divisions of the syllabus of that 

subject as prescribed for classes VI-VIII by the appropriate government.  

• The questions in the tests for Paper II will be based on the topics of the  prescribed 

syllabus of the State for classes VI-VIII but their difficulty standard as well as 

linkages could be upto the senior secondary stage.  

8.   The question paper shall be bilingual – (i) in language(s) as decided 

by the appropriate Government; and (ii) English language. 

Qualifying marks 

9.  A person who scores 60% or more in the TET exam will be considered 

as TET pass. School managements (Government, local bodies, government 

aided and unaided) 

(a)  may consider giving concessions to persons belonging to SC/ST, 

OBC, differently abled persons, etc., in accordance with their extant 

reservation policy; 

(b)  should give weightage to the TET scores in the recruitment 

process; however, qualifying the  TET would not confer a right on 

any person for recruitment/employment as it is only one of the 

eligibility criteria for appointment. 

Applicability 

           10 

(a)  TET conducted by the Central Government shall apply to all 

schools referred to in sub-clause (i) of clause (a) of section 2 of the 

RTE Act. 

(b)  TET conducted by a State Government/UT with legislature shall 

apply to :  

(i)  a school of the State Government/UT with legislature and 

local authority referred to in sub-clause (i) of clause (n) of 

section 2 of the RTE Act; and 

(ii)  a school referred to in sub-clause (ii) of clause (n) of section 

2 of the RTE Act in that State/UT. 

A school at (i) and (ii) may also consider eligibility of a candidate who has 

obtained TET Certificate awarded by another State/UT with legislature. In case a - 8 -

State Government/UT with legislature decides not to conduct a TET, a school at 

(i) and (ii) in that State/UT would consider the TET conducted by the Central 

Government. 

(c)  A school referred to in sub-clause (iv) of clause (n) of section 2 of 

the RTE Act may exercise the option of considering either the TET 

conducted by the Central Government or the TET conducted by the 

State Government/UT with legislature. 

Frequency of conduct of TET and validity period of TET certificate 

11.   The appropriate Government should conduct a TET at least once 

every year. The Validity Period of TET qualifying certificate for appointment will 

be decided by the appropriate Government subject to a maximum of seven years 

for all categories. But there will be no restriction on  the number of attempts a 

person can take for acquiring a TET Certificate. A person who has qualified TET 

may also appear again for improving his/her score. 

Procedure for conduct of the Test 

12.  The examining body shall formulate a detailed procedure and lay 

down instructions for conduct of the TET. Candidates should be informed that a 

very serious view will be taken of any malpractice or impersonation. 

Legal Disputes 

13.  All legal disputes with regard to conduct of TET shall be subject to 

the jurisdiction of the appropriate Government. 

Award of TET Certificate 

14.  The appropriate Government conducting the Test shall award a 

TET Certificate to all successful candidates. The certificate should contain the 

name and address of the candidate, date of birth, Registration No. year/month of 

award of Certificate, marks obtained in each Paper, class level of its validity 

(Class I to V, class VI to  VIII or both), and, in case of classes VI to VIII, the 

subject area (Science and Mathematics, Social Studies, etc.). The certificate may 

be electronically generated with adequate  security features. Appropriate may 

consider utilizing the services of specialized agencies for issuing de-materialized 

(demat) TET certificates as a security feature to avoid any kind of malpractice. 

Monitoring 

15.  Following measures would be taken for monitoring the quality and 

administration of the TET: - 9 -

(a) The appropriate Government shall appoint a Nodal Officer for the 

purpose of TET. 

(b)  The NCTE would organize meetings of the Nodal Officers at least 

once every year. 

(c)  Every appropriate Government will forward a report of each TET to 

the NCTE in a format to be prescribed by the NCTE. 

(d)  The NCTE shall maintain data base and be the repository of 

experts and resources, including the technological tools for conduct 

of the TET, and shall share it with the appropriate Government. 

                                                         T.S.Sridhar 

Additional Chief Secretary to Government 

//True Copy// 

           Section Officer