Teachers protest against TET order in Bhopal:Gherao at DPI office, demand exam cancellation; memorandums submitted across state

In Bhopal, teachers staged a protest on Wednesday against the rule making TET compulsory. Several teacher organisations came together and surrounded the DPI headquarters. They raised slogans and demanded that the exam be cancelled. At the same time, memorandums are being submitted to the Chief Minister at district collector offices across the state. Teachers say the order, issued in the name of Supreme Court directions, could put the jobs of thousands of senior teachers at risk. They have urged the government to withdraw the TET rule and file a review petition in the Supreme Court. Upendra Kaushal, a member of the Adhyapak-Shikshak Sanyukt Morcha (Teacher-Educator Joint Front), stated that teachers from surrounding districts have gathered in the capital and are protesting outside the DPI. Their main demand is to cancel the TET examination. He added that along with the capital, members of the Joint Front are also reaching district collectorates across the state to submit memorandums to the Chief Minister. During this, a delegation of the United Front went inside the DPI office to meet the officials. The teachers protesting outside have been assured that all their demands will be placed before the officials through the delegation. DPI Bhopal had issued this order According to the order recently issued by the Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI) Bhopal, teachers who have more than five years left until retirement must compulsorily pass the TET examination. The order clarifies that the concerned teachers must pass the examination within two years, otherwise their services may be terminated. The School Education Department says that this decision has been taken based on the instructions of the Supreme Court, but widespread dissatisfaction is being seen among teachers due to this order. Teachers’ Argument – New Condition on Old Rules is Wrong Teacher organizations say that the RTE Act was implemented in 2009 and TET was made mandatory from 2011, whereas thousands of teachers had been appointed before that. In such a situation, applying TET to them now is wrong. Teachers allege that this is a “retrospective” decision, meaning new rules are being applied to old cases, which is not only unjust but also legally weak. 1.5 lakh teachers affected, 70 thousand directly in scope According to teacher organisations, this order could affect about 1.5 lakh teachers in the state. Among these, approximately 70 thousand teachers were appointed before 2011. These teachers say that there was no TET requirement at the time of their appointment, so it is unfair to determine their eligibility on this basis now and put their jobs at risk. Preparation for a joint fight Upendra Kaushal informed that a joint meeting of all teacher organizations was called on March 29, in which it was decided to unite and formulate a future strategy. In this meeting, issues like “attendance through teacher app” and “service extension” were also raised, apart from TET. The organizations have clarified that now all teachers will come together on one platform to fight their battle and the movement will be intensified if needed. Many teacher leaders were present in the meeting, including the district presidents of the Government Teachers’ Organisation, Provincial Teachers’ Association, State Teachers’ Association, Azad Adhyapak Shikshak Sangh, and Guruji Adhyapak Shikshak Sangh. These included Rakesh Patel, Upendra Kaushal, Rakesh Pandey, Girish Dwivedi, Darshan Odh, Jitendra Shakya, Rajesh Sahu, Nilesh Arya, Dwarka Patel, Rajendra Gupta, Nitesh Nagar, Anand Vani, and women representatives. Movement at block level on April 11 On April 11, memorandums will be submitted to all local MLAs, ministers, and MPs during a protest at the block level. During this, the main demand will be for the government to file a review petition in the Supreme Court to cancel the TET order and protect the interests of teachers.