Ranchi, Sep 24 (IANS) The Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday strongly criticised the state government for not conducting the Jharkhand Teacher Eligibility Test (JTET) for nearly nine years and has summoned the Education Secretary to appear in person to explain why the exams were not conducted.

The order was passed by a bench headed by Justice Ananda Sen while hearing a petition filed by Ritesh Mahato along with 401 other aspirants.

The petitioners, represented by senior advocate Ajit Kumar and advocate Aparajita Bhardwaj, argued that the prolonged delay in the conduct of exams has severely impacted the future of thousands of candidates who wish to enter the teaching profession.

Expressing displeasure, the court sought a clear explanation from the government on two points — why the JTET has not been conducted for such a long time and when the stalled examination process will finally begin.

The court noted that in the 25 years since Jharkhand’s formation, the exam has been held only twice — once in 2013, when around 68,000 candidates cleared it, and again in 2016, when about 53,000 aspirants passed. Since then, no examination has been conducted.

The state government had issued an advertisement for the JTET in 2024 and invited applications between July and August. It received nearly 3.65 lakh applications then, but the process was abruptly scrapped in June 2025.

Officials had cited amendments to recruitment regulations, based on the recommendations of a committee set up by the Education Department, as the reason for cancellation.

The government had assured that the exam would be re-notified after new rules were framed, but no progress has been made so far.

The petitioners alleged that repeated delays in the name of policy changes are depriving them of a fair opportunity, with many candidates crossing the upper age limit for eligibility.

The court, while terming the situation as “serious negligence,” directed the Education Secretary to personally appear on Thursday and clarify the government’s position on the issue.

–IANS

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