Following the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling making the Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET) mandatory for both recruitment and promotion of school teachers, the Odisha Government is preparing to issue revised guidelines to align with the directive.
School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond stated that the department will review the judgment and consider the interests of in-service teachers, many of whom were recruited without the Odisha TET (OTET) requirement.
The apex court’s decision, delivered by Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih, mandates that teachers with more than five years left before retirement must qualify the TET within two years to remain in service. Those with less than five years of service remaining are exempt but will not be eligible for promotion.
The ruling emerged from petitions filed in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, questioning whether TET should be compulsory for teaching roles. Odisha now joins other states in evaluating implementation strategies, with the Minister confirming that best practices from across India will be studied.
This move is expected to impact thousands of educators across the state and could reshape the future of teacher recruitment and career progression in Odisha’s education system.
