Among 7 Lakh Candidates only 37,000 cleared Teacher Eligibility Test

Around 6.6 lakh aspiring teachers who had taken the Central Teacher Eligibility Test conducted by CBSE on 21 September, only 5.6% have made the cut and passed the examination. This has raised concerns about the standard of education amongst these candidates. Earlier it was made compulsory that in order to seek job in government-funded CBSE schools, the candidates need to clear the CTET. The exam was introduced in the year 2011 and now many private schools too prefer candidates who have already cleared the examination that checks the candidate’s ability to teach students.

The CTET pattern differs for those who want to teach in classes I to V and those who want to teach in classes VI to VIII. CTET includes Paper I and Paper II respectively for selection of candidates who are eligible to teach in these classes. Among 2.06 lakh candidates who had opted for Paper I examination this year, only 11.95% could clear it. The remaining 4.59 lakh candidates who had taken Paper II examination has fared even badly as only 2.8% of them could clear it.

The exam in conducted by CBSE twice a year, inviting B.Ed graduates to take the examination as many times as they want until they clear it. Once a candidate passes the exam the board provides a CTET certificate to the candidate which remains valid for seven years. Last time in February when the examination was conducted for the first time this year, the performance of the aspiring candidates were even worse where only 1.79% of the total 7.5 lakh candidates could only qualify the examinations.

Jose Kurien, Principal of DAV High School, Nerul has pointed out that, “The test is very comprehensive and requires a lot of preparation, which many are not ready with. The fewer number of candidates qualifying the exam is leading to shortage of teachers in schools, which is further adding to the trouble of many schools.”