PANAJI
The first Goa Teacher Eligibility Test (GTET) will be conducted by the State Council of Educational Research & Training (SCERT) on November 21, it was announced on Saturday.
This new qualification test for those aspiring to be teachers for classes I to VIII in the State's schools will be held in two separate papers -- Paper I for those desirous of teaching in class I to V and Paper-II for teachers in Class VI-VIII.
For Paper-I, that is to become a teacher in classes I-V, the qualification required to answer the GTET is Senior Secondary (HSSC) with 50 per-cent marks and he/she will have to either pass or be answering the final year of a 2-year Diploma in Elementary Education (DEEd).
Also, those holding a 4-year Bachelor of Elementary Education degree or have answered the final year of such a degree are eligible to sit for GTET's paper-I.
Graduation with a pass or in final year of a two-year BEd degree is the qualification benchmark to sit for the GTET- Paper-II (for Elementary/Upper Primary Stage: Classes VI-VIII).
Also, graduates who have passed or are appearing in final year of 2-years Diploma in Elementary Education (by whatever name known) or Graduates with at least 45% marks and passed or appearing in Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) are also eligible to sit for GTET's Paper-II.
Those with Senior Secondary (HSSC) with at least 50% marks and passed or appearing in final year of 4-year Bachelor in Elementary Education (B.EI.Ed), or graduates with at least 50% marks and passed or appearing in B.Ed. (Special Education) and any candidate having qualified BEd Programme recognized by the NCTE are also eligible.
The GTET is made compulsory from 2021 for teachers in government, aided and private schools under the administrative control of the Goa government's Education department.
The government has taken legislative support from a proviso of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, which states that it is essential for a teacher to qualify in a test to be employed to teach from Classes I to VIII, to introduce this new qualification test.
For several years, the State government's education department had skipped implementing this provision of the RTE Act, and was following the BEd and State and National Eligibility Test requirement to recruit teachers.
A minimum score of 60% or at least 90 out of 150 marks is the qualification threshold to clear the GTET and certificates will be issued to the successful candidates by the SCERT.
“The certificate shall be valid for life time and there is no restriction on the number of attempts a person can make to acquire the GTET certificate. Candidates who clear GTET can also re-appear in future to improve scores,” the notification issued said.
In an exception, however, graduates who have earned a BEd degree will be permitted to teach classes I to V without GTET. They however will have to mandatorily undergo a six-month Bridge Course in Elementary Education recognised by NCTE, within two years post appointment.
