Editor,
I wish to highlight an important issue concerning teachers’ recruitment in Arunachal Pradesh. The Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) has released the notification for trained graduate teacher (TGT) recruitment 2026 (Advt No 02/2026) to fill 389 posts, with applications open from 26?March to 27?April and the written exam scheduled for 12?July.
At the national level, the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) is recognised as the minimum qualification for teachers of Classes 1 to 8. The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), under the RTE Act, 2009, mandates TET qualification to ensure uniform pedagogical standards.
The Supreme Court in a judgment on 1 September, 2025 affirmed that qualifying TET is essential for appointment and continuation of teaching service, with exemptions allowed only in specific circumstances.
Section? 23 of the RTE Act allows temporary relaxation of teachers’ qualifications for genuine shortages, for a maximum of five years from the Act’s commencement in 2010. This period lapsed in 2015, with later extensions effectively ending around 2019. Any further exemptions require explicit government notification.
Despite these clear legal and regulatory requirements, recent APPSC recruitment notifications continue to waive TET qualification. This creates confusion among aspirants and raises questions about the relevance of the Arunachal Pradesh TET (APTET) conducted by the SCERT. Candidates invest time, effort, and resources in APTET, yet its outcomes are not consistently applied in recruitment, undermining the system’s credibility.
I urge the APPSC and the education department to make TET (APTET/CTET) a mandatory eligibility criterion in all future teacher recruitments. Aligning recruitment with NCTE guidelines, RTE statutory provisions, and judicial directives will uphold educational quality, ensure fairness, and restore confidence in the recruitment process.
A concerned TGT aspirant