More than 25,000 in-service teachers in Meghalaya will have to pass the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) to comply with the Supreme Court order in September 2025, state Education Minister Lachman Rymbui said on Monday, as the government has started accepting applications from teachers for the test.
However, Rimbui maintained that the test was not intended for teachers who were terminated due to irregularities in the recruitment of lower primary teachers in 2008-2009 when white correction fluid was used to favor shortlisted candidates.
A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation later led to the dismissal of 246 teachers in the initial stages. Later, more than 260 other teachers were also fired.
“There are two separate cases…the service of these tainted teachers must be terminated, and this is still in place,” Rimbui told reporters after a formal meeting, stressing that the action stems directly from the court’s findings regarding their appointments.
In this case, the Meghalaya High Court last year dismissed the state’s former education minister and others for lack of evidence, even though its findings of irregularities in teacher appointments stood.
Rimbui stressed that the abolition of criminal proceedings “has no effect” on the fate of those whose appointments have been revoked, distinguishing between responsibility and capacity.
In its ruling on September 1 last year, the Supreme Court had set a two-year deadline for all state governments to ensure that teachers of classes I to VIII across the country clear the TET within two years, or face dismissal.
Officials say the move aims to improve the quality of teaching and ensure uniform standards across schools, although concerns remain over whether all teachers will be able to pass the test before the deadline.
