TET result to be out by March 23, HC told

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 17

The Punjab School Education Board on Tuesday undertook before the Punjab and Haryana High Court to declare by March 23 the result of Punjab State Teachers Eligibility Test-II of 2018.

The test was conducted on January 19, but the result was not declared. In the absence of the result, the candidates seeking appointment to 450 posts of mathematics master/mistress had been virtually pushed out of race.

As a bunch of petitions filed in the matter came up for hearing before Justice Augustine George Masih, the undertaking on declaration of result was given by the Board counsel on instructions from the Controller of Examination.

“Keeping in view the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case and the grievances which have been highlighted by the petitioners, let the application forms in the shape of hardcopy of the petitioners in these writ petition be accepted provisionally today and tomorrow by director, education recruitment directorate, Punjab…. The result of the petitioners be produced in the court on the next date of hearing,” Justice Masih added.

In one of the petitions, Jaspinderjit Singh through counsel Sukhdev Kamboj contended that the result was mandatory for appointment to the posts advertised on February 28.

Kamboj added that the answer key was uploaded on January 31 and the declaration of the result did not take much time as the process was computerised. As such, the Board’s action of not declaring the result was illegal and arbitrary.

He further added the action of respondent Director, Education Recruitment Directorate, in not waiting for the result before advertising the posts and fixing the last date for form submission as March 18, too, was illegal and discriminatory.

He also told the Bench that the Board suddenly postponed the date for conducting Punjab State Teachers Eligibility Test-II of 2018 from December 15, 2019, to January 19. But it did not declare the result even after lapse of about two months.

On the other hand, the Director advertised 450 posts of mathematics master/mistress, wherein, the last date to submit online applications was March 18.