New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed review petitions challenging its earlier verdict directing the removal of teachers who failed to clear the Kerala Teacher Eligibility Test (K-TET). However, the court extended the deadline for passing the examination from two years to three years.

The review pleas were dismissed after an open court hearing by a bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan. Around 45 review petitions filed by the Kerala government and various organisations were considered by the court.

The petitioners had mainly sought exemption for teachers who entered service before March 31, 2012, arguing that K-TET should not be made mandatory for them and that they should be allowed to continue in service until retirement.

However, the Supreme Court refused to reconsider its earlier ruling, observing that TET is a qualification examination focused on child pedagogy and teaching aptitude and that all school teachers must clear the eligibility test.

With the implementation of the Supreme Court verdict making TET mandatory for teacher appointments and promotions, nearly 50,000 teachers in Kerala who entered service without passing the test despite possessing higher qualifications such as NET, MPhil, MEd and PhD could be affected.

These teachers will now have to clear the TET examination to continue in service and become eligible for promotions.