By Tripura24.in Bureau
AGARTALA | June 12, 2026: Expressing deep anxiety over the professional future of thousands of long-serving primary educators, the Tripura state unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh (ABRSM) hosted an urgent press conference at the Agartala Press Club today.
The ruling BJP-affiliated apex teachers’ organization demanded immediate humanitarian and legal intervention from both the central and state governments to counter the sudden fallout of a recent Supreme Court judgment regarding Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) mandates.
Supreme Court Ruling Triggers Crisis for Veteran Teachers
Addressing media persons, ABRSM New Delhi Additional General Secretary Professor Arvind Mahato explained that a Supreme Court bench, in its verdict pronounced on May 29, 2026, upheld a 2010 National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) notification.
The judgment retroactively mandates that any regular in-service primary school teacher who has more than five years of remaining service must clear the TET examination to secure their positions. This decision completely disrupts the job security of educators who were legally recruited decades before the Right to Education (RTE) guidelines were even conceptualized.
”In Tripura alone, more than 15,000 primary school teachers suddenly find their careers and livelihoods under a cloud of uncertainty due to this retrospective ruling. These educators were hired transparently under the valid state recruitment rules of their time. Forcing them to pass a modern eligibility test after 20 to 25 years of continuous service violates the principles of natural justice,” argued Head Teacher and ABRSM functionary Pranab Mallik.
ABRSM Blames Retrospective Execution, Calls for Review
Senior ABRSM leaders Gautam Majumdar and State Higher Education Wing President Tirtharam Reang maintained that while they hold the highest respect for the judiciary, the implementation of the law must remain compassionate. They pointed out that multiple state governments, including Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, are already actively drafting review petitions to challenge the sweeping scope of this judgment.
The leadership strongly urged the Government of India and the Ministry of Education to legally intervene, file a comprehensive review mechanism, and protect the senior workforce from losing their livelihoods.
To press for these critical protections, ABRSM Tripura announced a massive, multi-phased democratic agitation. The organization will launch a statewide campaign on June 18, 2026, featuring peaceful sit-in demonstrations outside the offices of all District Magistrates (DMs) across Tripura’s eight districts at 12:00 Noon.
The teachers’ body will also submit formal memorandums addressed to the Prime Minister and the Union Education Minister through the respective DMs, appealing to all affected educators across party lines to join the protest to secure their fundamental right to work.
