Pune: The Maharashtra School Education Department has extended the deadline for primary school teachers appointed under the compassionate employment scheme to clear the mandatory Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) from three years to five years.

This decision marks a significant shift from the earlier directive, which required teachers to pass the TET within three years of appointment, failing which they would be reassigned to other positions.

The move comes after the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) mandated in 2010 that all primary teachers (for Classes 1 to 8) must meet minimum educational and professional qualifications, which included passing the TET or Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET).

The Maharashtra government, through its resolutions in 2013, enforced this requirement for teachers across the state.

However, in 2016, the state had initially exempted teachers appointed on compassionate grounds from passing the TET, a decision that was later reversed to comply with NCTE guidelines.

These teachers were given a three-year period to pass the test, with the clear stipulation that failure to do so would result in either termination or reassignment.

With the new resolution, the School Education Department has provided these teachers with an additional two years to meet the qualification requirement.

While the extension offers relief to teachers struggling to pass the exam, the government has not provided a clear explanation for this change in policy, leading to questions about the sudden shift from the original directive.

The extension aims to give teachers more time to prepare, but it remains to be seen how this will affect teacher recruitment and retention in the long run.