SHILLONG, March 18: Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui today made it clear that it is mandatory for all teachers employed in government aided schools to have MTET qualification.
Replying to concerns raised by Congress MLAs on appointment of only 240 MTET qualified teachers in the lower primary sections out of 2900 and 16 in the upper primary sections out of 1670 qualified teachers, the Education minister pointed out that Meghalaya Teachers’ Eligibility Test (MTET) was a necessary criterion for appointment of teachers in any school.
If anyone has passed MTET it does not mean that they will teach only in government school; they can teach in private and government aided school as well, Rymbui said, adding that the process of appointment of teachers is on and will be completed as soon as possible.
Congress MLA from Mawsynram, HM Shangpliang drew the notice of the House to an order passed by the High Court of Meghalaya which states that MTET is to be conducted by the Education department within March or April 2021.
The Education minister replied that the notification for MTET was delayed since the Education department had to revise the calendar in view of the upcoming GHADC elections.
Rymbui further clarified that those who have failed MTET but fulfil other criteria can reappear for the test.
Responding to a query from Nongpoh MLA Mayralborn Syiem on the validity of the MTET, Rymbui said the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has taken a decision to accord lifelong validity to Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET) but the state government is yet to receive a notification in this regard.
Gambegre MLA, Saleng A Sangma urged the state government to give temporary appointment to contractual teachers to fill up the vacancies to which the Education minister replied, “We are working on a plan but we have to go by the law. We are concerned and will try to solve it as soon as possible.”
