Supreme Court Refuses Review of TET Mandate for In-Service Teachers, Extends Compliance Deadline to August 2028

May 30, 2026 : The Supreme Court has dismissed a batch of review petitions challenging its 2025 judgment that made it mandatory for in-service school teachers to qualify the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) in order to continue in service and become eligible for promotion.

A Bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Manmohan held that the review petitions failed to establish any error apparent on the face of the record warranting interference under Article 137 of the Constitution. Accordingly, the Court declined to revisit its earlier ruling.

However, exercising its powers under Article 142, the Court granted limited relief by extending the deadline for in-service teachers to acquire TET qualification by one additional year. Teachers covered by the judgment must now clear TET by August 31, 2028, instead of the earlier deadline of August 31, 2027.

In its original 2025 judgment, the Supreme Court had ruled that teachers engaged in classroom instruction and having more than five years of service remaining before retirement must qualify TET within a specified period. Failure to do so would render them ineligible to continue in service, while TET qualification was also made a prerequisite for promotion within the teaching cadre.

The review petitioners, including State governments, teachers’ associations, and individual teachers, argued that the requirement could not be imposed on teachers appointed before the enactment of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. They contended that neither the RTE Act nor subsequent amendments authorized retrospective imposition of new eligibility conditions on existing employees.

Rejecting these arguments, the Court held that Section 23 of the RTE Act expressly requires serving teachers to acquire prescribed minimum qualifications within the statutory timeframe. The Bench observed that the legislative scheme was intended to cover both newly appointed and existing teachers, reflecting the objective of maintaining educational standards and ensuring quality teaching.

The Court further clarified that the 2017 amendment to the RTE Act did not retrospectively disqualify teachers but merely extended the period available for compliance. It also harmoniously interpreted the provisions of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) Act and related notifications, concluding that they supported the requirement for serving teachers to obtain prescribed qualifications.

Emphasizing that TET is not merely an eligibility criterion but is linked to the constitutional guarantee of quality education under Article 21A, the Court reiterated that the rights of schoolchildren must take precedence over competing service-related concerns. While acknowledging the practical difficulties raised by States regarding potential teacher shortages, the Bench noted that more than fifteen years had elapsed since the enactment of the RTE Act and that sufficient opportunities had already been provided for compliance.

To facilitate implementation, the Court directed State governments and competent authorities to conduct TET examinations regularly, preferably twice a year at intervals of approximately six months. The extension until August 31, 2028, was described as a one-time equitable measure, with the Court making it clear that no further extension would be granted in future.

The judgment reinforces the Supreme Court’s position that minimum professional qualifications for teachers are an integral component of the constitutional right to quality education and provides a final opportunity for in-service teachers to meet the prescribed standards.