TET results sparks concern among in-service teachers, unions seek exemption

Many in-service teachers who appeared for the Andhra Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test (APTET)-2025 and failed to qualify are grappling with the demoralizing impact of their performance in the exam.

TET results recently announced by HRD Minister Nara Lokesh showed that out of 31,886 in-service teachers who appeared for the exam, only 15,239 (47.82 per cent) were qualified. The result of the test triggered a debate among teachers’ unions, who argued that the failure of more than half of teachers, many of whom had decades of classroom teaching experience, to achieve the qualification clearly showed that the test did not reflect classroom teaching qualifications.

“TET has no meaningful connection with assessing actual teaching ability and is therefore not suitable as a qualification criterion for experienced in-service teachers,” said G. Hrudaya Raju, State President, Andhra Pradesh Teachers Federation (APTF).

Arguing that TET cannot be imposed on in-service teachers on the grounds that it is “unfair and unscientific”, the federation also expressed concern over the pattern of cut-off marks for in-service teachers – 90 for OC, 75 for BC and 60 for SC candidates, and demanded that a single qualifying score of 35 per cent be fixed for all in-service teachers, irrespective of community, and the results be re-declared accordingly.

The issue came to the fore with the Supreme Court’s verdict on September 1, 2025, stating that all teachers, including those appointed before the enactment of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2010, must compulsorily undergo TET, reiterating the provisions of the 2017 Central legislation.

Challenging this decision, APTF, along with some other teachers’ associations and State governments, including Telangana, filed review petitions in the top court seeking exemption from TET for teachers appointed before 2010. APTF filed a Petition for Review specifically seeking judicial review and relief for affected teachers.

The Supreme Court’s decision that TET is now a non-negotiable requirement for anyone seeking appointment as a teacher, including in-service teachers seeking promotion, triggered the unrest. “The court order that teachers appointed before the Children’s Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act) and still have more than five years of service remaining will be given a grace period of two years to clear the test and those who fail to do so will have the option of voluntary or compulsory retirement with final benefits is a cause of great concern for serving teachers falling under this category,” said former MLC KS. Lakshmana Rao, who demanded amendments to the Central Act to exempt in-service teachers from TET.

Pointing to GO No. 51 issued during the Congress regime under the chief ministership of Kiran Kumar Reddy in undivided Andhra Pradesh, which clearly stated that TET qualification was not mandatory for teachers recruited before the enactment of the Education Act, Mr. Lakshman Rao argues that it is unfair to subject service teachers to such pressure now. He said the TET syllabus was overly complex and unrealistic, and said a biology teacher had made the test disconnected from actual teaching practice by giving examples that required studying mathematics.

“We want the state government to put pressure on the Center to amend the Act and provide exemption from TET requirement to in-service teachers,” he said.