GUWAHATI, Jan 25 � A total of 52,722 candidates out of 3,30,927 who appeared in the State�s first Teachers� Eligibility Test (TET) cleared the examination the results of which were declared today, the pass percentage being 15.93.
In Paper I (LP), 32,212 candidates out of 2,07,178 were declared qualified (15.54 pc). In the Science (Maths & Science) paper of Paper II (UP), 4,372 candidates qualified out of 21,893, with a pass percentage of 20. The corresponding figure for successful candidates in the Arts (Social Studies) paper of Paper II stood at 16,138 (15.84 pc) out of 1,01,856. The combined figure of qualified candidates in Paper II was 20,510 against a total number of 1,23,749.
Formally announcing the results at a press conference, Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that 30,559 posts of LP school teachers would be filled up from among the 32,212 qualified candidates. �The significance of the results is that some 95 per cent of the TET-qualified candidates would be absorbed in the vacancies in the LP teachers� posts,� he said.
Overall, the State requires 90,000 teachers, with another 30,000 vacancies coming up in the next three years.
Sarma revealed that with the Gauhati High Court today granting its permission to recruit 12,000 posts of teachers in the first phase, those vacancies could be filled up within two months.
�It is a historic occasion, as the High Court has lifted its embargo, albeit partially, on teachers� recruitment after ten years. We will appeal again in the High Court or in the Supreme Court for opening the recruitment process for all the 90,000-odd teachers� � regular as well as contractual � posts in the State,� he said.
The next TET for elementary (LP and UP) is scheduled for October 10, while the TET for high school teachers will be held in July.
A disturbing development revealed by the TET results, Sarma said, was that a good number of candidates � including graduates who secured 50 pc marks in Higher Secondary exams � displayed extremely poor calibre.
�Many candidates were unable to write the spellings of words such as �zero�, �Assamese�, etc. Similar have been cases relating to simple words in Assamese. This is a disturbing sign, which shows the falling standards of our education. The fault, however, lies not with the students but with the way education has been imparted in our schools. Political appointment of undeserving teachers is largely responsible for this,� he said, adding that the developments strongly warranted a reform in school education.
Among the districts, Kamrup (Metro) led the list of successful candidates with a number of 3,302 (Paper I) and 2,258 (Paper II), followed by Nagaon (2,612 and 1,398), Jorhat (2,302 and 1,708), (Kamrup (2,543 and 1,281), and Sivasagar (2,294 and 1,688).
Almost all the districts showed a qualified percentage trend between 10 pc and 20 pc. Only Tinsukia had a successful percentage of over 20.
Among the successful candidates in Paper I, Barnali Deka (Nalbari), Piklu Acharjee (Mariani) and Ranjit Chetry (Bokakhat) shared the first position with 132 marks out of 150 (88 pc) each. In Paper II (Science), Chandan Das of Margherita (126/150 marks), and in Paper II (Arts), Chini Changmai (125/150 marks) were the toppers.
In Paper I, male candidates (53.3 pc) outscored their female counterparts (46.7 pc). In Paper II (Science), males (71 pc) again prevailed over females (29 pc), but in Paper II (Arts), females (54.3 pc) dominated males (45.71 pc).
The results are also available at the official website of Sarvasiksha Abhijan.
