Police detain DSC job aspirants who were staging a protest at Commissioner and Director School Education office demanding postponement of the exam for three months, in Hyderabad, Monday, July 8, 2014.
| Photo Credit: PTI
What is DSC
The District Selection Committee, or DSC, is Telangana government’s teacher recruitment test for posts in the categories of Secondary Grade Teacher and School Assistants in local body schools, as per preference exercised by candidates, districts and vacancies wise.
The Telangana government released the DSC notification on February 29 this year for 11,062 posts in various teacher categories. The previous notification, along with test schedule, was released by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi government in September 2023 for 5,089 posts. However, the test was postponed due to the Model Code of Conduct for the State Assembly elections held in November last year.
Official figures show that 2,79,957 candidates applied for the 11,062 various posts now. A total of 100 marks – 80 marks are drawn from DSC and 20% weightage is drawn from Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) to arrive at merit list.
What is TET?
Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) is an online test for eligible candidates, such as those possessing qualifications of Diploma in elementary education, Diploma of education, Bachelor of Education and Language Pandit, intending to be teachers for classes 1 to 8 in government and private schools. Paper 1 is for candidates intending to be teachers for classes 1 to 5 and paper 2 for classes of 6 to 8.
About 6.29 lakh candidates (3,51,468 for Paper 1 and 2,77,844 for paper 2) registered for the test. For a total of 150 marks, a general candidate must get 60% to pass the test. A candidate’s TET score is valid for life and can be improved in a re-attempt.
As per the existing rule, TET is conducted once a year. In line with the National Council for Teacher Education, the Telangana government amended this rule for conducting it twice in a year – June and December – last week.
Why are DSC aspirants protesting now?
Scenes and songs of protest, heightened police presence and almost everyday detentions of aspirants, according to Bharat Rashtra Samithi, its student wing and othersin Osmania University and elsewhere in Hyderabad brings back the sad memories of the separate Statehood movement.
“We are not robots to appear in back-to-back exams and be satisfied of clearing them. We don’t have sufficient time to prepare as the TET and DSC syllabus is also different,” the protesting candidates say. Their placards read ‘postpone DSC for 90 days’.
Telangana State police deployed out side the Secretariat in Hyderabad on Monday, In response to a call given by the BC Jana Sabha State president Rajaram Yadav, demanding postponement of DSC exam and filling up of vacant posts in various government departments in the State.
| Photo Credit:
RAMAKRISHNA G
The demand is because TET exam concluded on June 2, the public service commission’s Hostel Welfare Officer and Divisional Accounts Officer exam was held from June 24 to 29, and DSC now is scheduled to commence from July 18.
Another demand is also for increasing the posts from 11,062 to 25,000.
What is the government’s response?
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who also holds the Education Ministry portfolio, said postponing the DSC would affect unemployed youth who are eager to appear in the exam.
At a recent meeting at Mahabubnagar, he said: “The demand for DSC postponement is part of a conspiracy by BRS which is in cohorts with ‘coaching centres mafia’. It is BRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao who is playing with students’ lives. Would his leaders K.T. Rama Rao and T. Harish Rao go on a hunger strike, if they are sincere and committed to the ongoing protest on postponement?”
The protests by the opposition and the aspirants remain unheeded. As per the schedule by the Director, School Education, the DSC examination schedule commences on July 18 and will be conducted till August 5.
The DSC State Cell has also opened its online portal for downloading of hall tickets by the candidates.
