On Friday, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court provided interim relief to numerous teachers in Uttar Pradesh holding an 18-month Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.) through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) from the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). The court's ruling allows these teachers to appear in the Uttar Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test (UPTET) 2026, pending a final decision on their eligibility. Justice Rajeev Singh issued the order in response to a petition filed by 36 teachers, including Shubham Kumar Shukla, who argued that their exclusion from the exam was inconsistent with recent Supreme Court clarifications. The court stipulated that candidates must have been employed on or before August 10, 2017, and possess the requisite diploma to participate. The court has also instructed the state government, the examination commission, and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) to submit their affidavits. The next hearing is set for May 22.