Why is a spectre of empty classrooms looming?

The story so far: The State o f Tamil Nadu has sought a review of a Supreme Court judgment requiring in-service teachers from Classes 1-8 in non-minority schools across the country to clear the Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET) in two years or be “compulsorily retired”. Other States have equally voiced concern about the September 1 judgment and its harsh lesson to lakhs of teachers validly employed in government, aided, unaided and private schools mentioned under Section 2(n) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. They are likely to follow Tamil Nadu to the top court.

What is the situation in Tamil Nadu?

Tamil Nadu alone employs 4,49,850 teachers in government and aided schools, of whom 3,90,458 are not TET-qualified. The States have argued that if t