Teachers claim eligibility test still prone to errors

Mumbai: Many teachers have alleged that the Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET) conducted annually by the Maharashtra State Council of Examination (MSCE) is prone to error. From major mistakes in question papers to not having a proper date as to when exams are conducted every year, there are allegedly many issues with the TET, not least of which is that not more than 5 per cent pass every year due to bad quality.

This year, the TET was conducted in July only to repeat the same errors. It was claimed that the low passing percentage was because of TET exam papers often carrying out-of-syllabus content. Educationists said that the results were an indication of poor quality of teacher training.

Prashant Redij, member of the Mumbai Principals’ Association, said, “No one is bothered about the teachers, their training, or this TET. There is no guarantee that after appearing for this exam, you will have a job, so what is the point?”

Teachers who do not have TET certification get less pay, with most getting paid only about Rs 6,000 per month. If they have a TET passing certificate along with their Bachelors of Education or Diploma in Education, they are reportedly paid more by their respective schools.

A teacher said, “For years, I have been trying for TET but have been unsuccessful. So many mistakes and out-of-syllabus questions frustrate us but we have to keep trying because only Rs 6,000 per month is nothing in a city like Mumbai.”

This year, candidates need to score 82.5 marks out of 150 in order to pass but the errors have been so many that there is not much possibility of students getting the passing score. According to a teacher, around 12 to 13 questions in paper II were wrong. Moreover, dates for the exam were announced just a month before.

A senior official dismissed the complaints, pointing out that when there were mistakes or errors in the question papers, students were compensated by way of grant of extra marks.