Agartala, Sept 27 (TIWN) Rejecting the Congress’ demand, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Center has given an one-time exemption from conducting a teachers eligibility test (TET) before recruiting of around 5,000 school teachers in Left ruled Tripura.

Former Tripura Congress President and present opposition leader Sudip Roy Barman had earlier urged the central government not to give any exemption from conducting the TET ahead of recruiting of around 5,000 school teachers in Tripura

Tripura’s education minister Tapan Chakraborty said Friday that the center responding the Tripura government’s demand, has waived the TET prior to recruiting of around 5,000 school teachers, including 100 Kokborok teachers.

Replying to the queries of the MLAs in the assembly, he said : “HRD (human resource development) ministry’s additional secretary Vrinda Sarup in a letter to Tripura’s principal secretary (education) Banamali Sinha informed that the union ministry has given a one-time exemption from conducting TET before recruiting of around 5,000 school teachers.”

The Minister said : “The HRD ministry yet to give any clear decision in minimum qualification for the recruitment of the 5,000 under graduate teachers (UGT).”

However, the HRD ministry has asked the Tripura government to conduct the TET within two years after the recruitment of these 5,000 teachers.”

Under graduate teachers’s recruitment in Tripura was stopped since 1997. Over 7133 posts of UGT, graduate teachers and post graduate teachers were lying vacant for the past many years.

Mr Chakraborty said : “Over 80 lakh teachers have been teaching in 13 lakh schools across the country and they have been engaged without the TET. Over 22 crore students are studying in the 13 lakh schools in India.”

According to the guidelines of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, the TET is mandatory for recruitment of government school teachers.

The minister said when Tripura started the process to recruit 5,000 teachers and sought applications in 2002, the pre-condition of holding a TET was not in force.

“The HRD ministry recently sought some clarification from the state government and we accordingly replied. We want TET, but only for this time we want a one-time relaxation.”

Mr Chakraborty has also discussed the matter with the HRD minister M.M. Pallam Raju.

The controversy over the TET began last year after state Congress chief Sudip Roy Barman wrote a letter to the HRD ministry not to give any waiver to the Tripura government on the matter.

“I have informed the union human resource development minister that the Tripura government was trying to ignore the provision of the RTE. Recruitment of teachers without TET would decline the quality of education,” Mr Barman said.