Telangana teachers divided on Centre's common test

HYDERABAD: Teachers’ associations in Telangana are opposing the recent decision by the Union HRD ministry to conduct a common evaluation test for teacher recruitment. They say the Teacher Eligibility Test and the recruitment test held by the Telangana State Public Service Commission are enough for the purpose.  

“This move by the MHRD is an encroachment on the states’ powers as teacher recruitment and evaluation of their performance is each state government’s prerogative. The TET, which was imposed on the process earlier, has itself become a hurdle to recruitment in Telangana,” said Mr N. Narayana, a former leader of the teachers’ union.

Schools go by different criteria and do not think the centralised test will be a deciding factor in their recruitments. “We recruit teachers on different parameters such as subject knowledge and language, so this test will not be a deciding factor for us,” said Ms Sita Kiran, principal of DAV Public School.

Mr Anil Swarup, secretary, department of school education, said that it was not mandatory for the states to recruit teachers on the basis of this test and that they could conduct their own tests, too. This test has been proposed to ensure the quality of teachers.

The test is to be conducted on one syllabus nationally. “Each state conducts its own recruitment, which suits its local interests. Therefore, the states might not recruit from the selected pool from this common test,” Said Mr Chava Ravi, a member of TS United Teachers Federation.

However, a few schools said that if the Central tests wsa applicable to students, then teachers too should be assessed by a similar measure. A Centrally selected and published pool of teachers eligible for recruitment would smoothen the process, they said. The MHRD also plans to create a biometric system of attendance to monitor teachers.