Cut-off Flip-flop: Aspiring Teachers Urge Yogi Government to Act

Aspiring teachers protest the raising of cut-offs for Uttar Pradesh Teacher’s Eligibility Test amidst vacant posts.

Uttar Pradesh Teacher’s Eligibility Test: Aspiring teachers protest demanding, cut-offs be lowered for vacant posts.

(Photo: Aroop Mishra/ The Quint)

Video Editor: Abhishek Sharma

Twenty-six-year-old Pawan Yadav, a resident of Ambedkar Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh, always wanted to be a teacher like his father.

Today, he’s caught in a legal battle against the UP government in a case related to recruitment of teachers.

Pawan has filed a petition in Allahabad High Court alleging discrepancies in the UPTET exam.

On 27 May 2018, the state education department had conducted UPTET (Uttar Pradesh Teacher’s Eligibility Test) for 68,500 vacancies of assistant teachers.

A week before the exam, a government order declared that cut-offs (or minimum passing marks) would be 30 percent for SC/ST category and 33 percent for General and OBC category students.

Cut-offs Caught in Legal Battle

When the answer key came out, I was sure of making it among 68,500 vacancies advertised by the Uttar Pradesh government. Then a writ was filed on 9 June with the High Court order stating that hiring should be done on the basis of 40 percent and 45 percent as cut-offs respectively for SC/ST and General/OBC students.

Pawan Yadav (UPTET Candidate & Petitioner)

Though the High Court had given the Yogi government time of up to 21 days to file a counter, there was no response. Candidates like Pawan Yadav are miffed at the government’s silence, as a result of which only 41,556 candidates have been declared successful.

It means that 26,944 posts of assistant teachers will remain vacant.

The UP government didn’t file a counter (affidavit). I’m not sure why the government took this step but I’m quite disturbed by this decision.  

Pawan Yadav (UPTET Candidate & Petitioner)

Discrepancy in Marks

Apart from the flip-flop on cut-offs, students have been protesting in Lucknow, Allahabad and few other cities over discrepancy in marks.

I was expecting 93 marks after cross-checking with the answer sheet that came out on 6 June. But when results were declared, I got 63 marks and was declared as ‘not qualified’.

Toofan Singh (Candidate, UPTET)

Toofan Singh, who is at the forefront of student protests, claims that there are many like him who have got far less than what they were expecting.

One candidate, Sonika Devi, was shocked when she realised that her answer book had been replaced with that of someone else.

Sonika had approached the Lucknow bench of the High Court demanding that her answer sheet be re-evaluated.

Will Lowering the Cut-off Improve Quality of Education?

On 30 August 2018, when the Principal Secretary (Basic Education), Prabhat Kumar, was asked the reason for lowering marks, he couldn’t offer a reply to the court.

In April 2017, an RTI reply had revealed that 1.6 lakh teaching posts are vacant across 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh. The question is whether lowering of cut-offs for aspiring teachers will help in improving the quality of education at government schools.

The silence of the Yogi government is causing more distress to the aspiring teachers, with several of them approaching lawyers for intervention.