The senior teachers in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) Primary Education Department are stressed over the ongoing principal promotion process. Teachers have alleged that the inclusion of the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) qualification as a mandatory criterion has led to injustice, and have demanded that the process be temporarily suspended.
According to a letter submitted to the PMC commissioner, teachers appointed between 1994 and 2000 have faced issues regarding seniority due to various administrative decisions. The situation became more complex after the inclusion of surrounding villages into the PMC limits in 2000, which disrupted the existing seniority structure.
Teachers from the newly included villages were granted seniority, which caused issues to the original senior teachers. Concerns were also raised over the extension of seniority benefits to some teachers who had earlier submitted affidavits declining such claims.
Meanwhile, following a Supreme Court directive, the TET qualification has been made mandatory. However, with expectations of relaxation in the TET condition, many teachers chose not to appear for the exams conducted between November 2025 and February 2026. The next TET examination is scheduled for June 2026, and teachers are currently preparing for it.
Amid this, the Education Department has initiated the principal promotion process based solely on TET-qualified candidates. Teachers fear that this move could once again disadvantage senior teachers. They have also criticised the decision as abrupt, especially since the promotion process had been pending for the past three years.
Teachers have demanded that the promotion process be either postponed until the June 2026 TET results are declared or that promotions be granted based on seniority, with a provision to acquire the TET qualification within a stipulated timeframe.
