West Bengal govt to recruit 35,726 assistant teachers after SC order

The school service commission will prepare merit panels based on the candidates' performance in the written test, oral interview, and lecture demonstration

The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) on Thursday issued a notification for the recruitment of 35,726 assistant teachers in state-aided and government-sponsored schools. The move comes as part of compliance with the Supreme Court’s directive to begin the hiring process by May 31.

 

According to the notification issued late on Thursday on the WBSSC’s official website, the recruitment drive includes:

 

• 23,212 posts for classes 9 and 10
• 12,514 posts for classes 11 and 12

Age criteria and relaxation

The eligible age for applicants is between 21 and 40 years. However, the notification specifies age relaxations as follows: “Upper age limit is, however, relaxable by 5 years for scheduled caste/scheduled tribe candidates, 3 years for backward class candidates, and 8 years for physically handicapped candidates,” the notice said.

 

Application and examination schedule

• Application window: June 16 to July 14
• Written examination: First week of September

 

Candidates will receive carbon copies of their OMR (Optical Mark Recognition) sheets. Meanwhile, WBSSC will retain scanned copies of these sheets for 10 years.

Preparation of merit list

The commission will prepare merit panels based on the candidates’ performance in the written test, oral interview, and lecture demonstration. The panels will be organised by subject, medium of instruction, gender, and category. These will be published on the official website.

Subject to court review

Referring to the Supreme Court’s judgment on April 3 and the subsequent order on April 17, the commission said: “The commission and government of West Bengal have already applied for review of the said judgment and order and this exercise is strictly subject to the outcome of the review petition and guidelines of the Hon'ble court to be followed by the commission and the government.”

 

The notice clarified: “The notification is being issued for conducting the 2nd State Level Selection Test (SLST) for posts of assistant teachers for classes 9 and 10 in government-aided, government-sponsored secondary and higher secondary schools, and to the posts of assistant teachers for classes 11 and 12 in government-aided, government-sponsored higher secondary schools.”

 

It further emphasised that the process is being carried out “Strictly without prejudice to the rights and contention of the state, commission and the Board in their pending review petitions in the SC and without intending to create any empathy or right to any party who may choose to participate in the process.”

 

The commission also retained the right to alter the recruitment process: “The commission reserves its right to cancel, withdraw, rescind or amend the selection process or the terms and conditions thereof at any time hereafter without assigning any reason,” it said.

Protests continue despite notification

Members of the Deserving Teachers Rights Forum, whose earlier appointments were invalidated, expressed dissatisfaction with the announcement. Spokesperson Mehboob Mandal said: “This notice offers nothing new. Preparing for a fresh exam at such short notice is unrealistic. We are not ready to go through this trauma again.”

 

Another forum leader, Chinmoy Mondal, said, “Our protests will continue and intensify in the coming days.”

Background of court ruling

The recruitment drive follows the Supreme Court’s ruling on April 3, where a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld an earlier Calcutta High Court decision. The court had nullified the appointments of teachers and staff in government and aided schools, calling the process “vitiated and tainted.”

 

On April 17, the court allowed teachers found untainted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to continue working until December 31, noting the negative impact of large-scale terminations on school education.

 

The Supreme Court directed that the new recruitment advertisement be issued by May 31 and the entire process, including the examination, be completed by December 31. The state government was asked to submit a compliance affidavit confirming the start of the recruitment process by the end of May.

 

(With PTI inputs)