The recent recruitment notification of Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission (UPESSC) making the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) mandatory for physical education candidates in the recruitment of trained graduate teachers (TGT) has triggered concern among aspirants concerned, many of whom say they have never been even eligible to appear for the test.
They also claim that the NCTE has not issued any amendment or separate guidelines for physical education since August 23, 2010. The recruitment includes 849 physical education teacher posts, of which 784 are for male candidates and 65 for female candidates. Of the total posts, 344 are unreserved, 223 are for Other Backward Classes (OBC), 154 for Scheduled Castes (SC) and 128 for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
They argue that the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has not prescribed TET as a requirement for the recruitment of physical education teachers. Aspirants point out that TET is not mandatory for physical education teacher recruitment elsewhere in the country, including in Kendriya Vidyalayas and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas.
“If BPEd and BPE candidates are not eligible to fill out the TET application form, how can they possess a TET certificate?” asked Dhirendra Pratap Yadav, state president of the BPEd Unemployed Association. Commenting on the issue, Sanjay Singh, public relations officer of UPESSC, said the recruitment rules had been framed by the secondary education department. They have questioned the rationale for imposing the eligibility condition in the Uttar Pradesh TGT recruitment when, according to them, candidates have no avenue to obtain the required certificate.
