GUWAHATI, Oct 11 � The State Government has relaxed the norm for appearance in the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) by removing the 50 per cent mark clause. Any graduate (both Science and Arts) will now be able to appear in the TET for LP and ME schools irrespective of the marks obtained at degree level.
Announcing this before the media today, Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the relaxation in norms was necessitated by the very low number of applications from science graduates for the ensuing TET.
�Of the 2,05,000 forms received so far, only 35,000 are from science graduates, and this will make the task of selecting the required science and mathematics teachers very difficult. So we wrote to the Centre seeking some relaxation in the criteria laid down by the National Council for Teacher Education, which the Centre granted,� Sarma said.
Sarma said that it was necessary to relax the qualification norms for Arts as well to maintain uniformity in the conduct of TET.
Sarma said that the States of Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal, Manipur and Chhattisgarh also availed the relaxation after Assam had sought it.
The last date for submission of TET forms has been extended to October 21, and the examination has also been deferred to the last week of December so that the late entrants following the relaxation in norms could prepare for it.
The relaxation will be in effect till 2015, Sarma added.
The minister also appealed to all concerned including aggrieved people and conscious citizens to write to the department to make formal complaints about any anomaly or malpractice taking place in educational institutions.
�It is not possible for me to personally visit each and every school of the State. We will definitely take action on complaints if found out to be genuine,� he said, adding that the Education department would soon have a toll-free complaint number to receive complaints verbally,� he said.
