Government Freezes Order Making KTET Mandatory for Teacher Appointments and Promotions
The government has temporarily frozen the order that made KTET mandatory for teacher appointments and promotions in government and aided schools across the state. Education Minister V. Sivankutty announced that the directive, issued by the Public Education Department, has been put on hold. This decision comes in response to strong opposition from various teacher organizations.
The initial order to make KTET mandatory was based on a Supreme Court verdict delivered on September 1, 2025. Minister Sivankutty further stated that the government intends to file a review petition against the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The Minister also remarked that the protests by teacher organizations stemmed from a misunderstanding of the issue, reiterating the government’s solidarity with teachers. Both the CPI-affiliated AKASTU and the CPM-affiliated KSTA expressed concerns. AKASTU highlighted that the qualification order was causing anxiety among educators, while KSTA called for a reconsideration of the government’s directive, especially as teachers were already preparing for a special K-TET examination.
**Details of the Frozen Order:**
The now-frozen order had previously rescinded exemptions from obtaining K-TET for individuals possessing higher qualifications such such as SET, NET, MPhil, PhD, and M.Ed. Under this directive, K-TET Category Three would have become compulsory for high school teachers seeking promotion to headmaster positions or aiming for by-transfer appointments to the higher secondary section.
For appointments to Lower Primary (LP) and Upper Primary (UP) teacher posts, candidates who had successfully passed K-TET Category One or Two would have continued to be considered. However, for high school appointments, passing Category Three of the K-TET examination was mandated. Exemptions for those who had cleared the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) were to remain in effect, with CTET Primary Stage qualifiers considered for LP appointments and Elementary Stage qualifiers for UP appointments. Furthermore, only teachers who had passed the relevant K-TET category would be eligible for by-transfer appointments to HST/UPST/LPST positions.