AGARTALA, July 5 (TIWN): Rattled by the legal tussle over the appointment of teachers, the School Education department has initiated a process to constitute a board to conduct Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET), according to official sources.

The department has already sent a proposal before the government seeking approval for setting up a board to conduct TET as per the provision of National Council for Teachers’ Education (NETC).

As per the proposal, the department favours to constitute a body like TBSE or TBJEE to conduct TET. “Now the ball is on the government’s court to take a final call”, said an official of School Education department here today.

Sources in the Civil Secretariat said, after examining the proposal by the Minister, it would be forwarded to the Council of Ministers for approval.

The department plans to conduct the TET at the earliest to save the services of over 10,000 teachers. Services of Undergraduate and Graduate teachers will be saved if they cracked the TET.

The government had recruited 1,100 post-graduate, 4,617 graduate in 2010 and 4,606 under-graduate teachers in phases and their services are at the stake after the High Court cancelled appointment of all categories.

The government has, however, challenged the verdict of the High Court and appealed before the Supreme Court for revision of the judgment.

In principle, the department has decided not to appoint teachers without TET clearance. As per the Right to Education Act, TET has been made mandatory to appointed as teachers.