Passing Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) not mandatory for teachers appointed in minority institutions.

ORDER

This Writ Petition has been filed to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, to call for the records relating to the proceedings issued by the second respondent by proceeding in O.Mu.No.8139/A4/2024 dated 10.09.2024 and to quash the same and consequently, direct the respondents to approve the appointment of the individual in the post of B.T.Assistant (English) in the petitioner's School, from the date of appointment on 01.06.2018 with all consequential and attendant benefits including the payment of salary from the date of appointment along with interest within a time frame to be fixed by this Court.

2. Heard Ms.M.Kaviya, learned counsel for the petitioner, Mrs.P.Rajarajeswari, learned Government Advocate for the respondents and perused the materials available on record.

3. The petitioner School is a religious minority institution and it is the Government Aided School. One Mr.A.L.Abdul Rahim has been appointed to the post of B.T.Assistant (English) in the petitioner School and the proposal for his appointment has been sent to the second respondent through the third respondent for getting approval. But the approval was rejected by citing the reason that the appointee is not qualified by passing the Teacher Eligibility Test.

4. Time and again it has been held in several of the earlier judicial pronouncements that passing of Teacher Eligibility Test is not a mandatory requirement for appointments made in the minority institutions. The very same issue is surfacing repeatedly before the Courts. The position of law on this issue has been well settled by the Division Bench of this Court in W.A.No.313 of 2022 and batch. And the same is followed in various judgments. In this regard, it is also appropriate to refer the judgment of this Court held in W.P. (MD) Nos.8928 & 8929 of 2024 dated 17.04.2024 and in which, the following orders have been passed:

"5. Therefore, the petitioners and others had challenged the order made in W.P(MD)No.2527 of 2022 and preferred an appeal in W.A(MD)No.1177 of 2023 and the same is pending. In the meanwhile, the legal position as to whether TET qualification is mandate for the Teachers appointed by the minority institutions have been settled by the Division Bench of this Court in W.A.313 of 2022 etc., batch by its order dated 02.06.2023. In the said judgment, the following legal position have been crystallized under paragraph Nos.71.1, 72 and 73 as to whether TET is mandatory for the Teachers in minority school. The same is extracted hereunder:

“WHETHER TET IS A NECESSARY MANDATE FOR TEACHERS APPOINTED IN MINORITY SCHOOLS:

71.1. A perusal of the orders impugned in the writ petitions leading to these writ appeals would indicate that the fact that the teachers, in respect of whom approval of appointment was sought for by the school, did not possess TET pass eligibility was not a ground for refusal for grant of appointment approval, nor was it an issued raised before the Learned Single Judge at the time of disposal of the writ petitions. Only in the writ appeals, the State Government has raised an additional ground that the teachers whose appointment approval was sought for, did not possess TET. Notwithstanding the same, it is hereby clarified that by virtue of the judgment of the Constitution Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust & Ors. v. Union of India, [(2014) 8 SCC 1], wherein it was held that the RTE Act, 2009 insofar as it applies to minority schools, aided or unaided, covered under Article 30(1) is ultravires the Constitution, meaning thereby that the 2009 Act will not apply to minority schools, the eligibility of TET pass as required for appointment of teachers in non-minority schools, wil