Arijit Banerjee, J. - (1.) The petitioners in all these writ petitions intend to participate in the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET), 2017. They are aggrieved by a notification dated October 9, 2017 issued by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education stipulating the minimum eligibility condition that must be satisfied by a candidate for appearing in the TET. The conditions specified in the said notification of the Board insofar as they are relevant are as follows:- "The applicants must fulfil the following minimum eligibility conditions, prescribed by NCTE from time to time:- 1. Higher Secondary / Senior Secondary (or its equivalent 10+2) with at least 50% marks and 2 Year Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.). Or 2. Higher Secondary / Senior Secondary (or its equivalent 10+2) with at least 50% marks and 4 Years Bachelor of Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.). Or 3. Higher Secondary / Senior Secondary (or its equivalent 10+2) with at least 50% marks and having Diploma in Education (Special Education), recognised by the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI). Or 4. Graduation and Two Year Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.).
(2.) Some of the petitioners submit that in the notification dated February 11, 2011 issued by the National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE) laying down the guidelines for conducting TET, the eligibility conditions permit a person who is pursuing any of the teacher education courses (recognised by the NCTE or the RCI, as the case may be) specified in the NCTE notification dated August 23, 2010, to participate in TET. Some other petitioners contend that they have acquired the D.El.Ed. (Special Education) qualification after passing higher secondary and are, as such, entitled to participate in TET. However, it appears that they are not being permitted to apply online.
(3.) Appearing for the Board, Mr. Sanyal, learned counsel, submitted that the petitioners are not eligible to participate in TET because they do not satisfy the conditions laid down in the NCTE notification dated August 23, 2010 as amended by the notification dated July 29, 2011. He submitted that the relaxation provision in Section 23 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act) is not applicable in the State any further and hence no question of any relaxation can arise in so far as the eligibility criteria are concerned. In this connection, Mr. Sanyal also referred to RTE (Amendment) Act, 2017.;