National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), in its recent decision, has provided a great sigh of relief to all teachers who have qualified the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) and state-level Teacher Eligibility Test (TET).

According to the decision, NCTE has extended the validity period of CTET and TET certificates for a lifetime, which means that now qualified CTET and TET teachers can apply for teaching recruitments throughout their lifetime.

Earlier the validity of the certificates was only limited to a period of 7 years from the date of its issuance. 

The decision to change the validity of the certificates from 7 years to life was taken in the 50th Meeting of the Nation Council for Teacher Education on 29th September 2020. Among several other pertinent issues, this issue was placed and discussed as one of its major agendas.

With full consideration and discussion by the Commission, the outcome of a lifetime period was reached at and was, thus, declared.

The Commission has yet to decide the prospects of the act on the candidates who have already passed the TET exams earlier or who are already possessing CTET and TET certificates.

The dates for CTET 2020 have not yet been released. The exam is conducted on a national level by CBSE.

CBSE has laid down its eligibility criteria and the exam pattern. As many as 10 lakh applicants will be taking the CTET 2020 test which will be conducted in about 112 cities across India. 

CTET is conducted in two stages – Paper-I and Paper-II. Paper-I is for candidates who want to become teachers for classes 1 to 5. Paper-II is meant for candidates who want to teach students from classes 6 to 8.

Eligibility criteria for both papers are different, and a candidate who wants to teach both levels, i.e. from classes 1 to 8 must fulfil the eligibility criteria for Paper-I and Paper-II and also, qualify both papers with a minimum of 60% marks in Paper-I & II. 

There is no age limit for appearing in the CTET and TET exam Candidates must be at least 17 years in age.

There is also no restriction in the number of attempts for appearing in the CTET and TET exam. Candidates who score 60% or more in the CTET 2020 or TET exam will be eligible to get a certificate issued by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).

This certificate will be valid for a lifetime and candidates can use this certificate to get jobs in recruitments of teachers. The best thing about this CTET and TET certificate is that it will allow its holder to apply for teaching recruitments through out their lifetime and not just for seven years as was the case before. 

This decision to extend the validity of CTET and TET certificates issued by National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has changed the prospects for many and in a more positive way! The outcome of the decision will be seen in the near future. 

Stay connected with fellow students on PaGaLGuY for CAT Exam 2020 Discussion