Debangsu Basak, J. - (1.) THE writ petitioner seeks a direction on the appropriate authorities to increase the duration of the examination of all the papers in the ensuing Teacher Eligibility Test to two and a half hours. According to the writ petitioner such duration has been laid down by the guidelines issued by the National Council for Teacher Education.
(2.) IT is contended on behalf of the writ petitioner that, the Central Government has notified National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) as the academic agency under Section 23 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE). An academic agency notified under Section 23 is empowered to lay down the minimum qualification required to be eligible for appointment as a teacher. The NCTE has laid down guidelines for conducting Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) by a Notification dated February 11, 2011. The Notification dated February 11, 2011 of the NCTE prescribes that the time duration of the examinations for each paper would be one and a half hour. NCTE has extended the duration of the examination to two and a half hour by a Notification dated April 9, 2013. The NCTE by a subsequent notification dated May 22, 2014 has extended by the applicability of the Notification dated April 9, 2013 till the committee constituted for the purpose submits its report. Learned Counsel for the writ petitioner contends that, the guidelines issued by the NCTE under Section 23(1) of the RTE, 2009 is binding. In any event, the State has accepted the NCTE guidelines as would appear from the Notification dated May 25, 2015 itself. The NCTE by a Notification dated August 23, 2010 has laid down that the minimum qualification for a person to be eligible for appointment as a teacher in Class I to Class VIII in a school referred to in clause (n) of Section 2 of the RTE, 2009 is a pass in the TET to be conducted by the appropriate Government in accordance with the guidelines framed by the NCTE for such purpose. Therefore, one of the minimum qualifications required to be eligible for appointment to a school within the definition of clause (n) of Section 2 of the RTE, 2009 is passing TET conducted by the State Government in accordance with the guidelines framed by the NCTE for such purpose. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2009 (RTE Rules) framed under RTE, 2009 contemplates relaxation of qualification. In this regard Rules 17 and 18 of the RTE Rules have been referred to. It is submitted that, the State had applied for relaxations. Relaxation sought for by the State had been granted on June 1, 2011 and on April 1, 2015. The relaxations granted were on the condition that TET conducted by the State would be on NCTE guidelines.
(3.) IT is also contended that, the West Bengal Board of Primary Education by a Notification dated May 25, 2015 has announced the holding of TET on August 30, 2015. The Notification dated May 25, 2015 states that the TET would be conducted as per the guidelines of NCTE dated February 11, 2011. The Notification dated May 25, 2015 allows persons acquiring the minimum academic qualification upto May 25, 2015 to participate in the TET examination. Therefore, according to the writ petitioner, the cut -off date for the TET has to be considered as May 25, 2015. That being so, according to the writ petitioner, the West Bengal Board of Primary Education is required to follow the time duration for the examination to be two and a half hour instead of one and a half hour as sought to be done. Consequently, the writ petitioner seeks an order directing the authorities to prescribe two and a half hour as the duration for examination of each paper for the ensuing TET.;