SHILLONG : The Supreme Court has refused to exempt teachers appointed before the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) notification of August 23, 2010 from appearing for the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), but has granted additional time for compliance by extending the deadline till August 31, 2028.
The development is expected to affect thousands of in-service teachers across Meghalaya and other states who had been seeking relief from the mandatory TET qualification requirement.
Meghalaya SSA School Association (MSSASA) president Aristotle C. Rymbai said the apex court made it clear that teachers appointed before August 23, 2010 cannot be excluded from the provisions introduced through amendments to the Right to Education (RTE) Act.
According to him, the Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justice Manmohan observed that the amended RTE provisions require all teachers appointed up to March 31, 2015 to qualify the TET in accordance with the NCTE notification issued in 2010.
“The Supreme Court observed that it could not exempt teachers appointed before August 23, 2010 from TET as the amended RTE Act clearly stipulates that all such teachers must qualify the examination,” Rymbai said.
The MSSASA had earlier approached the Supreme Court through a review petition filed on October 24, 2025, challenging the court’s earlier order of September 1, 2025 which directed all in-service teachers to clear the TET within two years.
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The association argued that the order should not be applied retrospectively and sought implementation from a later date.
“Our plea was that the implementation should begin from August 23, 2010, the date on which the NCTE notified the eligibility criteria for teachers,” Rymbai said.
The association also requested the court to extend the original two-year deadline, arguing that the timeframe was too short for many in-service teachers.While declining exemption, the Supreme Court granted partial relief by extending the deadline for teachers to qualify the examination till August 31, 2028.
Rymbai further informed that teachers due to retire within the next five years have been exempted from appearing for the TET. But, all other teachers, including those seeking promotions, will now have to clear the eligibility examination.
The issue has triggered concern among teachers’ organisations in several states, especially among older in-service teachers who argue that retrospective implementation creates uncertainty despite years of teaching experience.
According to MSSASA, more than 65 petitions were filed before the Supreme Court by teachers’ organisations and different states raising concerns over the implementation of the TET requirement. The MSSASA leadership personally appeared before the apex court on May 13 and May 29 after being granted an opportunity to present its arguments.