2 Special TETs For In-Service Teachers After Retirement Concerns

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has permitted two special state Teacher Eligibility Tests (TETs) only for in-service teachers, following representations by teachers’ unions about the retirement risks faced by educators who fail to appear for the exam.

In an order issued by the school education department on Wednesday, the government has allowed two special TETs to be held in addition to the regular two TETs held every year. The permission was granted after reviewing proposals submitted by the school’s director of education and representations made by multiple teachers’ organisations.

The issue gained urgency after the Supreme Court order dated September 1, 2025 made it mandatory for teachers who look after classes 1 to 8 and have more than five years of service left before retirement to qualify for TET within two years. Failure to pass the exam could lead to forced retirement with only final benefits, teachers unions said.

Telangana state united teachers federation (TSUTF), in a submission to the government earlier, said many long-serving teachers are struggling to meet the qualification criteria despite years of service in rural and remote schools.

According to the federation, 1,00,270 candidates qualified for the January 2026 TET with an overall pass percentage of 51.37%. Among in-service teachers, 37,893 qualified and recorded a pass percentage of 57.76%. However, unions said that a significant number of teachers, especially in the general category, were unable to obtain the required qualification grades.

Teacher organizations have argued that many educators appointed before the introduction of TET were initially recruited through district selection committee examinations without TET weightage and are now facing difficulties due to concerns about age, examination patterns and syllabus.

TSUTF had sought relaxation measures including lower qualification marks, additional weightage based on years of service and separate subject-wise TETs for in-service teachers.