Page 14 - EW JAN 2022

Education News

bottom-line is reopening of AWCs the 173,449 aspiring teachers
and primary schools which should be who wrote TET, a mere 1,679
prioritised. “This is critical invest- cleared it. TET 2021 was writ-
ment we need to make for children ten by 3.43 lakh candidates
as the region (South Asia) gears up but only 16,592 passed.
for future waves of Covid-19. We Unsurprisingly, the high
need to build systems which can failure rates in the annual
weather any storm and keep children TET has become the happy
learning, no matter the circumstanc- hunting ground of corrupt of-
es,” says a Unicef statement. ficials and anti-socials. Supe
This is especially true of AWCs and his associates allegedly
which despite their seemingly large charged Rs.50,000-100,000
number (1.38 million) accommodate to candidates to rig their an-
only 50 percent of India’s 164 million swer papers. Police allege this
children below five years age. TET exam candidates: prized jobs malfeasant gang harvested
Autar Nehru (Delhi) Rs.4.2 crore from TET 2020
scam. This led the police to question and Rs.5 crore from TET 2018 can-
MAHARASHTRA Tukaram Supe, commissioner of didates. Unaccounted cash and gold
TET scandals the Maharashtra State Council of Ex- ornaments valued at Rs.4 crore were
aminations (MSCE), a Pune-based
discovered in houses of the accused.
government body that conducts scho- ollowing public outcry and op-
n december 16, the pune police lastic aptitude exams including TET. Fposition BJP MLAs alleging the
investigating allegations of On December 17, Supe was arrested accused have the patronage of lead-
Omalpractice in the recruitment for alleged malpractices in TET 2020. ing lights of the ruling state’s Maha-
exam of the Maharashtra Housing and More arrests followed as investiga- rashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition
Area Development Authority (MHA- tions revealed similar malpractices in government, the state government has
DA) held between December 12-20, TET 2018. constituted a six-member committee
stumbled upon large scale tampering Introduced in the state in 2013, of bureaucrats to inquire into TET ir-
in the state’s annual teacher recruit- the annual TET comprises two papers regularities. The committee chaired by
ment exam. with candidates required to score a Vandana Krishna, additional chief sec-
Investigations into the state’s minimum 60 percent to become eli- retary in the education ministry, has
teacher eligibility test (TET) — a gible for employment in the state’s been directed to submit its report this
compulsory qualification for col- 71,426 government and government month (January). However, several
lege/university graduates to teach in aided primary and secondary schools. teachers’ unions want the committee
the state’s 64,123 government-run With Maharashtra spending 82 per- to be scrapped and an independent
and 7,303 private aided elementary cent of its annual K-12 education judicial investigation.
schools (classes I-VIII) – indicated budget (Rs.60,237 crore in 2020-21) “We believe it is only a matter of
that the answer papers of 550 failed on teachers’ salaries, dearness allow- time before TET malpractices be-
candidates were rigged in TET exams ance and transfer allowances etc, jobs come Maharashtra’s Vyapam scam
held in 2018 and 2020. A network of in government and aided schools are (the 2013 Madhya Pradesh Profes-
corrupt government officials, coach- much prized. Primary teachers in gov- sional Examination Board’s recruit-
ing classes, agents, technical consul- ernment schools start at Rs.40,000 ment scam in which 7.7 million job
tants and software companies has per month with experienced teachers applicants reportedly paid between
also cast a shadow over the recently taking home Rs.70,000 plus. Rs.10-50 lakh in bribes for various
held (November 21) TET 2021 exam Private school teachers’ remu- government jobs in that state). Maha-
written by 1 million aspirants. Several neration is relatively modest. In the rashtra’s education officials are noto-
teachers’ unions and TET exam takers country’s ubiquitous budget private rious for petty corruption — demand-
are now demanding the latest exam be schools (BPS), wage packages of ing pay-offs for sanctioning teacher
scrapped and held afresh. university graduates range between transfers, releasing teachers’ salaries,
A cache of TET admit cards and Rs.8,000-20,000 per month. Hence stamping medical reimbursement
hall tickets of ineligible students were the rising number of aspirants signing bills and even clearing pension and
discovered at the residence of Dr. Prit- up for TET every year. However, given provident fund files. Yet, the govern-
ish Deshmukh, director of the Pune- the pathetic condition of undergrad ment has appointed six bureaucrats of
based G.A. Software Pvt. Ltd while education, only a tiny fraction of those the education ministry to investigate
police were investigating the MHADA who write the exam pass it. In 2018, of the TET scandals. The recent TET

14 EDUCATIONWORLD JANUARY 2022