CBSE conducting the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) which shall be held on 26.6.11.

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE

The implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 requires the recruitment of a large number of teachers across the country in a time bound manner. In spite of the enormity of the task, it is desirable to ensure that quality requirement for recruitment of teachers is not diluted at any cost. It is therefore necessary to ensure that persons recruited as teachers possess the essential aptitude and ability to meet the challenges of teaching at the primary and upper primary level.

In accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1) of Section 23 of the RTE Act, the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) had vide Notification dated 23rd August, 2010 laid down the minimum qualifications for a person to be eligible for appointment as a teacher in classes I to VIII. It had been inter alia provided that one of the essential qualifications for a person to be eligible for appointment as a teacher in any of the schools referred to in clause (n) of section 2 of the RTE Act is that he/ she should pass the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) which will be conducted by the appropriate Government in accordance with the Guidelines framed by the NCTE.

The rationale for including the TET as a minimum qualification for a person to be eligible for appointment as a teacher is as under:

i). It would bring national standards and benchmark of teacher quality in the recruitment process;
ii). It would induce teacher education institutions and students from these institutions to further improve their performance standards;
iii). It would send a positive signal to all stakeholders that the Government lays special emphasis on teacher quality

The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India has entrusted the responsibility of conducting the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) to the Central Board of Secondary Education which shall be held on 26.6.2011.

SHORT TITLE

These rules will be called as "Central Teacher Eligibility Test Rules, 2011"(CTET).

DEFINITIONS

i). "Government" means "Government of India".
ii). "Ministry" means "Ministry of Human Resource Development, New Delhi".
iii). "Board" means "Central Board of Secondary Education, Delhi".
iv). "School" for this purpose means any school affiliated with CBSE.
v). "CTET" means "Central Teacher Eligibility Test".
vi). "Qualifying Examination" means "Examination on the result of which the candidate becomes eligible to apply for admission to Central Teacher Eligibility Test".
vii). "Rules" means "The rules specified by the Central Board of Secondary Education for the conduct of CTET under the directive of Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India, New Delhi.".
viii). "Scheduled Castes" means "Scheduled Castes as specified and laid down by the Government of India".
ix)"Scheduled Tribes"means "Scheduled Tribes as specified and laid down by the Government of India".
x). "Other Backward Classes (OBCs)" means "Other Backward Classes as specified and laid down by the Government of India or by the respective States/UTs as the case may be".
xi). "Differently abled persons" means "Differently abled persons as specified and laid down by the Government of India or the respective States/UTs, as the case may be".

APPLICABILITY

i). The CTET shall apply to schools of the Central Government (KVS, NVS, Tibetan Schools, etc) and schools under the administrative control of UT of Chandigarh and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
ii). CTET may also apply to the unaided private schools, who may exercise the option of considering the CTET.
iii). Schools owned and managed by the State Government/local bodies and aided schools shall consider the TET conducted by the State Government. However, a State Government can also consider the CTET if it decides not to conduct the State TET.

Frequency of conduct of CTET and validity period of CTET certificate:

The CTET is presently being conducted annually. The Validity Period of CTET qualifying certificate for appointment will be seven years for all categories.

There is no restriction on the number of attempts a person can take for acquiring a CTET Certificate. A person who has qualified CTET may also appear again for improving his/her score.