94 per cent of teachers flunk the Central Teachers Eligibility Test
This year, around 10 lakh teachers had registered for the Central Teachers Eligibility Test (CTET). Among them, nine lakh appeared for the exam, but shockingly, only 6 per cent – around 50,000 teachers – passed the test.
Clearing the CTET is mandatory for teachers who want to join a government-based CBSE school. It is a certificate for a seven-year term after which a teacher has to renew it from the Union government’s Human Resources Department (HRD). A teacher has to score more than 60 per cent marks to be a certificate holder of the CTET. Even last year, around 86 per cent had flunked the CTET, but this year’s figures are worse.
The CTET was started last year by the Human Resource and Development (HRD) Ministry with an eye on standardising the quality of teaching in the nation. Even the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) 2009 states that it is necessary to ensure teachers possess the essential aptitude and ability to teach in primary and secondary level schools.
When the ADC contacted an official from the CTET department who did not wished to be named, the official said, “Most of the applicants were unaware of the exam rules, and a majority were not so serious about it. Teachers had to answer more than 150 questions in three hours. It may have been difficult for them to complete the paper, due to which a large number failed.”