Reported by Mrinal Kanti Banik
Agartala: The Tripura High Court has directed the Teacher’s Recruitment Board, Tripura (TRBT) to issue TET-II certificates to eight successful candidates whose applications were previously rejected during document verification despite passing the Tripura Teacher Eligibility Test (T-TET) 2024.
In a ruling delivered on July 23, Justice Biswajit Palit set aside TRBT’s rejection, holding that the candidates are entitled to receive their certificates subject to standard document verification.
The petitioners had qualified T-TET 2024 but were denied certification after the board questioned the validity of their undergraduate degrees. According to the candidates, they had paused their degree studies under Tripura University to complete a two-year Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed) before returning to finish their graduation within the university’s permissible timeframe.
TRBT contested the plea, arguing that the candidates pursued the D.El.Ed program without securing an official exit certificate or prior approval from Tripura University, rendering their qualifications invalid under recruitment rules.
However, after reviewing the university’s statutory framework, the High Court observed that Tripura University regulations allow students to resume their studies after a gap, provided the degree is completed within the maximum allowable duration. The court highlighted that no rule explicitly bars students from enrolling in another course during that gap.
Justice Palit further clarified that because the petitioners were not in-service candidates, they were under no obligation to seek prior permission from the university. The court also dismissed claims of simultaneous enrollment, clarifying that the situation did not fall under the purview of UGC guidelines on dual academic programs.
Finding no legal justification for TRBT’s rejection, the High Court quashed the board’s order and directed it to issue TET-II (Paper-II) certificates to all eight petitioners within three months upon verifying their documents.