Tamil Pandit course gone, 40k aspirants can’t take TET

Even as the need to protect the Tamil language has been hogging the limelight in the State, the future of more than 40,000 Tamil teacher aspirants looks bleak as they will not be able to appear for the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) this year with the removal of the “Tamil Pandit” course in the eligibility criteria of the TET notification.

Until recently, students, who had completed the Tamil Pulavar course, which is a three degree programme, could pursue Pandit Training Course, which is equivalent to the BEd programme. After successful completion of this course, the candidate would be appointed graduate Tamil teacher in government schools.

The Tamil Pulavar course, equivalent to B.Lit (Tamil) and Tamil Pandit course were available in more than five State-owned universities, including Bharathidasan University and Periyar University and more than three thousand students graduated every year. Till 2017, the Tamil Nadu Teachers Recruitment Board notified candidates to appear for the exam.

However, thousands of aspirants recently found out that their qualification criteria was removed in the TET notification this year.

“When Telugu Pandits, Kanada Pandits and Malayalam Pandits in the southern states could write TET this year as per the norms of National Council for Teacher Education (TCTE), why were Tamil scholars not allowed to appear for the exams?” asked Tamizhaga Asiriyar Kazhagam State Secretary J Gangadharan.

A senior official from the teachers’ recruitment board said that it was a policy decision and much could not be revealed since the issue was now with the court.