CHENNAI: In a significant development, 17 languages including
Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Gujarati and Bengali have been removed from the list of options for
Central Teacher Eligibility Test (
CTET) 2018. Until last year, 20 language options were available for candidates.
The move, feel educationists, will leave candidates from states like Tamil Nadu at a great disadvantage as they will be unable to compete with native Hindi speakers.
The CBSE, which conducts the test mandatory for teacher appointments in central government schools like Kendriya Vidyalayas as well as private institutions affiliated to CBSE, has limited the options to Hindi, Sanskrit and English, with candidates having to should choose two from these.
Educationist and state platform for common school system Prince Gajendra Babu said the Central Board of Secondary Education was forcing candidates from southern states to pursue Hindi and Sanskrit.
The test is divided into Paper I (those opting to teach Classes I to V) and Paper II (those opting to teach Classes VI to VIII), with aspirants having to score 60 % or above to clear it.
The two papers have compulsory language sections, with the first on proficiency in medium of instruction and the second on communication and comprehension. Candidates can choose one of these as language I and one of the remaining options as language II.
In Tamil Nadu, most candidates select English as language I and Tamil as language II, said K Devarajan, retired director of government exams, Tamil Nadu. Though some candidates may know Hindi and might even end up teaching it as a third language in CBSE schools, they can't compete with native Hindi speakers in CTET, he added.
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“We will be at a disadvantage and might lose up to 30 marks of 150,” said Rama*, a teacher aspirant from Chennai. While states like Tamil Nadu conduct their own teacher eligibility tests, a majority take up CTET each year.
Nearly 7.06 lakh candidates across the country, including 12,700 from TN, registered for it in 2016.
The latest move, Prince Gajendra Babu said, was a violation of Articles 14,15, 16 and 21of the Constitution. “Rights of minority language students from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, West Bengal and Gujarat have been denied. If teachers are not allowed to write in these languages, how will they teach students?”