RTE Act - Dainik Jagran English

Haryana to Launch CM Shri Schools on PM Shri Model

Abhishek Joshi — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 16:01:50 +0530

Haryana is planning to launch a new CM Shri Schools initiative modelled on the Centre’s PM Shri Schools, Education Minister Mahipal Dhanda told the state Assembly during the Budget Session.

The proposed schools will follow the CBSE pattern, with the state government seeking to develop an education model focused on improved academic standards and modern schooling practices.

Dhanda made the announcement while responding to a question raised by a member of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha.

CM Shri Schools to Follow CBSE Pattern

The Education Minister said the Haryana government would soon begin the CM Shri Schools initiative along the lines of the existing PM Shri Schools programme.

According to the minister, the proposed institutions will follow the CBSE pattern. The announcement indicates an effort by the state government to create a separate network of schools based on the academic and institutional model associated with PM Shri Schools.

Further details regarding the number of schools, locations, infrastructure and implementation schedule were not provided in the statement.

25% Seats Reserved for EWS and DG Students

The minister also informed the Assembly about admissions for students from economically weaker and disadvantaged sections in private schools.

He said the Education Department has reserved 25% of entry-level seats in private schools for students belonging to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and Disadvantaged Groups (DG) under the Right to Education framework.

The provision is intended to facilitate access to private-school education for eligible children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Over 14,000 RTE Applications Received

Dhanda said 14,127 applications were received during the last academic session for admission to private schools under the Right to Education Act.

Of these applicants, 11,803 successful candidates were allotted private schools, according to the figures presented by the minister.

The data provides an indication of the demand for RTE-linked admissions in the state and the scale of the admission process handled by the Education Department.

Focus on School Education in Haryana

The proposed CM Shri Schools initiative comes alongside the state's efforts to expand access to quality education while implementing provisions for children from economically weaker and disadvantaged communities.

The government is yet to provide a detailed roadmap for the new schools, including their proposed locations, infrastructure standards, admission criteria and the number of institutions to be established.

Those details are likely to determine how the initiative will operate alongside existing government schools and the PM Shri Schools network.

RTE Admissions Remain a Key Issue

The figures presented in the Assembly also highlight the continuing demand for admissions under the RTE framework.

With thousands of applications received in a single academic cycle, implementation of the 25% entry-level reservation remains an important part of ensuring access to private schools for eligible children.

The Haryana government's next challenge will be to ensure that the proposed CM Shri Schools initiative and existing RTE provisions translate into wider access and improved educational outcomes.

UTET 2026 Notification Out: Applications Open, Exam Scheduled for September 29

Priyanshu.Jha — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 16:44:29 +0530

The Uttarakhand School Education Council released the notification on July 14, 2026, with online applications opening the same day. The window closes August 3, 2026, at 11:59 pm. A correction facility for submitted applications will be available only between August 8 and August 11, with no changes accepted after that point — including after the exam or once results are out. The exam itself is scheduled for September 29, 2026, with UTET Paper 1 running from 10 am to 12:30 pm and Paper 2 from 2 pm to 4:30 pm, across 29 centres statewide.

What UTET covers
UTET is mandatory under the RTE Act, 2009, for anyone seeking a teaching position in primary or upper primary government and government-aided schools across Uttarakhand. Paper 1 qualifies candidates to teach Classes 1 to 5, while Paper 2 covers Classes 6 to 8; candidates can appear for either or both, depending on which level they want to teach.

Exam pattern
Both papers run for 150 minutes and consist entirely of objective multiple-choice questions, with one mark per question and no negative marking. Paper 1 covers five areas: Child Development and Pedagogy, Language I, Language II, Mathematics and Environmental Science. Paper 2 covers the same first four areas, with candidates choosing either Science or Social Science as their fifth subject.

Eligibility and age
Candidates need educational and training qualifications from recognised universities or boards and NCTE-approved institutions. Those currently in their final year of a relevant degree or diploma programme are also eligible to apply. Age limits follow NCTE and Uttarakhand government norms, with July 14, 2026 set as the cut-off date for age calculation, and relaxations available for reserved categories as per standard government rules.

Special provisions
Candidates with blindness, locomotor disability or cerebral palsy can request a scribe for the exam by indicating this on their application and submitting the required documentation at least 15 days before the exam date.

Certificate validity
Following changes made by the Ministry of Education, the UTET certificate is now valid for a lifetime, rather than the earlier fixed-term validity. Passing the exam once qualifies a candidate to apply for teacher recruitment drives in Uttarakhand going forward, though clearing UTET itself doesn't guarantee a job — it's a prerequisite for applying, not an appointment.

How to apply
Candidates can register at the official portal, www.ukutet.com, by creating a new applicant profile with their name, mobile number and email, verifying via OTP, then completing the form with personal and educational details, uploading a photograph, signature and thumb impression, and paying the fee online via debit card, credit card, net banking or UPI.

Candidates are strongly advised to go through the full information brochure on the official website before applying, since incorrect entries around category, qualification or marks can lead to cancellation of candidature.

MP Government Appeals to SC to Exempt 70k Teachers from TET

Danik Jagran English — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 17:23:55 +0530

The Madhya Pradesh School Education Department is preparing to approach the Supreme Court of India once again in a desperate bid to rescue nearly 70,000 state teachers from the stringent preview of the mandatory Teacher Eligibility Test (TET). The state’s primary legal contention hinges on the fact that these educators, recruited between 2005 and 2009, had already cleared rigorous state-administered competitive selection exams to secure their government jobs, making a mid-career eligibility re-test fundamentally unfair.

The administrative logjam impacts roughly 150,000 teachers appointed before the Right to Education (RTE) Act of 2009 was officially enacted. Following a firm directive from the Supreme Court in September 2025, the Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI) issued orders this past April, scheduling the mandatory TET for July and August for all veterans appointed between 1998 and 2009.

The Scope of the Supreme Court's Mandate

The apex court’s ruling establishes a definitive threshold for service continuity based on remaining employment tenure. Teachers with less than five years left before their official retirement are completely exempted from the re-certification process. However, those with more than five years of remaining service must pass the TET or face compulsory retirement from state services.

While the court initially set August 31, 2027, as the absolute deadline for clearing the evaluation, it later extended the grace period to August 31, 2028, due to widespread administrative and systemic challenges. Additionally, the court provided partial relief by allowing teachers who fail the initial attempt to reappear in subsequent cycles up until the 2028 cutoff.

The 2005–2009 Recruitment Defense

The Madhya Pradesh government is now building a legal firewall specifically around the 70,000 teachers recruited between 2005 and 2009. This particular cadre was inducted via competitive exams conducted by Vyapam (the MP Professional Examination Board).

The Vyapam Merits: The state plans to argue that these teachers cannot be categorized alongside irregular or backdoor appointments, as they survived a highly competitive, state-supervised academic filter.
The Legal Hitch: Although these selections were merit-based, the examinations did not technically align with the specific guidelines subsequently established by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) for the standardized TET.

According to senior bureaucratic sources, the School Education Department has concluded detailed consultations with the State Law Department and senior Supreme Court advocates in New Delhi. The state is expected to file its fresh special petition within the week. While top officials privately concede that the probability of the apex court diluting its stance is low, the government is pursuing the legal remedy to demonstrate political solidarity with the state’s massive teaching unions.

"The parliament’s underlying objective behind the RTE Act was to guarantee quality education to future generations. Consequently, active teachers must acquire the absolute baseline qualifications within the stipulated timeframe. The court cannot invalidate this mandate solely based on apprehensions of job loss, as allowing uncertified educators to continue indefinitely compromises the academic future of children." — Supreme Court (Observations from previous review dismissals)

A History of Stern Judicial Refusals

The Supreme Court has maintained an uncompromising posture on educational quality, having already summarily dismissed over 65 review petitions concerning the mandatory TET rule. These petitions were filed collectively by various state governments, teachers' associations, and individual litigators seeking a reversal of the landmark 2025 judgment.

Teacher unions have repeatedly argued that forcing mid-career employees to pass a baseline entrance exam constitutes an arbitrary alteration of their original service conditions. However, the apex court has consistently prioritized institutional standards over labor protections in this context. Thousands of teaching families across Madhya Pradesh are now anxiously awaiting the top court's reaction to this new petition, which could decide the fate of nearly half of the state's veteran teaching workforce.