12.62% qualify for teacher's post in govt schools

In what could be a reflection of quality of teachers in the state, just 12.62% applicants for teachers posts in government schools who took the the Teachers Eligibility Exams (TET) have qualified, according to the department of public instruction.

TET 2018 saw 2,39,863 candidates appear for the examination which was conducted to fill in over 10,000 vacancies in government schools across the state. Just 12.62% candidates who scored the requisite 55% in the qualifying examination.

Teachers had to score a minimum of 55% to be eligible to appear for the Common Entrance test which is the next round. Out of the applicants, a meagre 11,627 of them are qualified with a 55% marks while 18,647 of them have scored 60% and above. Even in the exams that were conducted in 2016, the numbers were similar. Just 5.62% of the total number of applicants had managed to pass the exam. Experts had expressed concerns over the standard of education in government schools if the marks that teachers have secured was such.

Tholi Bharamanna, state co-ordinator, Vidyarthi Bandhutva Vedike said that the department was being unfair to applicants in several ways. Speaking at a discussion held on these lines in Bengaluru on Saturday he said that the department charged Rs 1,000 just for the application forms for the post. “No other department is making money this way,” he said. He claimed that candidates were told that they would not be able to recheck their papers for any clarifications nor could they seek grace marks if there were any faults in the question paper.