Mingkeng Osik
PASIGHAT, SEP 5:
Teachers across East Siang district observed Teachers’ Day on Saturday by wearing black badges to express solidarity with teachers’ organisations raising concerns over the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) requirement for in-service teachers.
The observance followed an appeal by the District Executive Committee of the Arunachal Teachers’ Association (ATA), East Siang district unit. In a circular issued on September 4, the association urged teachers to participate peacefully while maintaining unity and dignity and highlighting concerns arising from the recent Supreme Court judgment on the TET requirement.
The TET requirement was introduced following the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which prescribed minimum qualifications for teachers appointed to elementary schools. The issue has since emerged as a concern among several serving teachers, particularly those who joined government service before the requirement came into effect.
Speaking during the observance, ATA East Siang district unit general secretary Kalen Komut said association members had visited several schools across the district to interact with teachers and understand their concerns.
Komut said many serving teachers had devoted 15 to 20 years to the profession and contributed significantly to educating generations of students, including those who later became doctors, engineers and professionals in various fields.
He expressed concern that requiring long-serving teachers to appear for an eligibility examination at this stage could create anxiety within the teaching community. He said preparing for an examination while continuing regular teaching duties could also divert teachers’ attention between job security and classroom responsibilities, potentially affecting the teaching-learning process.
At Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Upper Primary School, TGT Mary Tayeng raised concerns over uncertainty regarding the examination syllabus. She questioned whether experienced teachers would have to prepare under the existing or a revised syllabus and said senior teachers could face difficulties preparing for a competitive examination after several years in service.
Tayeng also expressed concern over the possible impact on schools if serving teachers fail the examination, particularly regarding the availability of experienced educators and continuity of classroom teaching.
Similarly, Nasi Darang of Government Secondary School, Mirbuk, said serving government teachers should not necessarily be subjected to the same requirement as newly appointed teachers. With only a few years left in service, Darang said the issue had created uncertainty among experienced educators and advocated that the TET requirement be applied primarily to newly appointed teachers.
Other teachers, including Osor Jamoh of Mirbuk School and W.R. Singh of Balwadi School, also shared their views during the interaction.
The black-badge observance was held in solidarity with the All India Primary Teachers’ Association (AIPTA), All India Federation of Teachers’ Organisations (AIFTO), ATA Central Executive Committee and other teachers’ organisations that have raised concerns over the implications of the Supreme Court judgment.
The East Siang ATA appealed to teachers to participate peacefully and in a disciplined manner and share photographs of the observance on social media to collectively highlight the concerns of the teaching fraternity.
For the participating teachers, the black badge symbolised concerns over the application of the TET requirement to experienced in-service educators and its possible implications for job security, teacher morale and continuity of education in government schools.
