High Court halts ETT teachers’ promotions to master cadre, issues notice to Punjab govt
PTC Web Desk: In a significant setback to the Punjab Government, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has stayed the promotion of Elementary Trained Teachers (ETT) to the master cadre and issued a notice seeking the state's response to a petition challenging the promotion process.
The promotions were being granted on the basis of a special Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) conducted earlier this year. Petitioners have alleged that the examination was specifically organised to facilitate the promotion of ETT teachers who had been appointed without clearing the TET qualification earlier.
The controversy has intensified over the unusually high success rate recorded in the examination. According to the petitioners, while the TET examination generally sees a pass percentage of around 15 to 20 per cent, nearly 98 per cent of candidates cleared the special test conducted this year.
The petition further questioned the legality of considering the results of the recent examination for promotions. It was argued that the Education Department had issued an order on September 15 last year stating that only those candidates who fulfilled all eligibility conditions by June 2, 2025, would be considered for promotion.
However, the government subsequently conducted the special TET examination this year, enabling a large number of serving ETT teachers to acquire the required qualification. Based on the examination results, promotion orders were issued on June 4.
The petitioners contended that candidates who became eligible after the prescribed cut-off date could not be considered for promotion under the existing rules. They also raised concerns about the conduct and outcome of the special examination.
After hearing the matter, the High Court stayed the promotion orders and sought a response from the Punjab Government. The case is expected to have significant implications for the promotion process within the state's education department and for hundreds of teachers awaiting elevation to the master cadre.
- PTC NEWS
