Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal meets Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal in New Delhi and urged him to exempt Common Entrance Test (CET) passed JBTs of 2008-10 from passing Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) to get appointed as JBT Teachers.
Chief Minister reminded the Union HRD Minister, of the correspondence made with him many times earlier in this regard. He apprised the Minister that selection of candidates for Junior Basic Teacher training for the academic session of 2008-10, was based upon the merit of State Level Common Entrance Test examination conducted all over the State by the authorized agency of HP Board of School Education which selected 2625 candidates for the training of the two-year course in different District Institute of Education Training (DIETs) and NCTE approved private institutions. He said that the training programme for JBTs had been framed in accordance with requirement of the assignment to teach primary classes from first to fifth standard. He said that on successfully completion of the course trainees were absorbed against the vacancies of JBTs. He pleaded before the Union HRD Minister that the course of 2625 JBTs had started prior to the implementation of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. He said that a number of schools in the State were functioning understaffed due to the imposition of TET condition for appointment as JBTs while the State had qualified candidates available for appointment against those vacancies.
Prof. Dhumal apprised the Union Minister that the qualified JBTs fulfill all other conditions laid down in the Act of having qualified plus two with 50 percent marks and pass in 2nd year JBT Training Course from a recognized institution in accordance with the Recruitment and Promotion Rules applicable at the time of their admission. He said that the condition of passing TET was not applicable at the time of their admission to the course and imposed upon them only after 23rd August, 2010. He said that it would be injustice towards educated trained unemployed JBTs if they were not granted exemption in qualifying the TET to join as JBTs. He said that the State had vacancies available for them and had completed the process for issuing them employment letters so that students in different primary schools were provided with teachers to start regular classes. He said that the process had been hampered due to the imposition of the TET condition upon them which needed to be exempted in favour of 2008-10 batch JBTs. He assured the Union Minister that the State Government would be implementing the TET condition in all future JBT recruitments.
Chief Minister said JBTs of 2008-10 should appear in TET examination scheduled for July 29, 2012 so as to complete the codal formality to pave the way for their appointment against the available vacancies of JBTs in different educational institutions of the State. He said that it would be best course in their interest also.
Kapil Sibal told the Chief Minister that he had full sympathy with the trained JBTs of the State but with a view to ensure quality education to the students it had been decided at national level to make TET condition for recruitment to teachers posts mandatory all over the country. He said that different states had been adopting different norms of recruitment to various categories of teachers and in some cases the standard had been too low which could hamper the mental growth of the young students. He said that hence it had been decided to make TET compulsory for recruitment to the posts of teachers all over the country by adopting uniform norms of recruitment.
