Preparing for potential scenarios, Mamata Banerjee reveals the timetable for teacher recruitment.
West Bengal to Hold Fresh Teacher Recruitment by May 31; Barred Staff from Supreme Court Order to be Placed in Other Government Departments
In a recent development, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced the schedule for a fresh selection test for 24,203 school teachers who lost their jobs due to the Supreme Court's April 3 order in the bribe-for-employment case. She emphasized the requirement for all parties to adhere to the court's decision, which mandates the commencement of the new recruitment process by May 31.
Banerjee also revealed that Group C and D school staffers, who were barred by the Supreme Court from taking the fresh test, will be deployed in other government departments. The State Government has filed a review petition with the Supreme Court, though there is no immediate response expected, given the Court's summer recess.
The advertisement for the tests will be published on May 30, and the selection process will include 11,517 new posts for class 9 and 10 teachers, 9,912 posts for class 11 and 12 teachers, and 1,571 vacancies at the Group C and D level. This totals over 44,000 vacancies in all.
Banerjee stated that the state government had filed a petition but must remain prepared for any possible unfavorable outcome. "We have to be ready for all possibilities. It is not that we want to do this. We are under compulsion," she said. Banerjee urged all candidates to take the selection test. If the review petition is successful, the selection process could be disregarded; if not, test results would be crucial.
As directed by the court, candidates above 40 years old will experience age exemptions, and their prior experience in the field will be acknowledged. Banerjee addressed criticism claiming the government was not doing enough, citing the lack of action from other state governments in similar situations like Tripura and Uttar Pradesh. She also highlighted the ongoing investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation concerning the appointment of non-teaching staff and teaching staff in the West Bengal School Service Commission and the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education from 2014 to 2021.
Teachers who lost their jobs have expressed hesitation about taking the fresh exams once more. According to Brindaban Ghosh, one of the leaders of the teacher groups demanding retention, the government is attempting to compel them to appear for an examination. Ghosh claims that Banerjee announced their death warrant on Tuesday and that the government is diverting attention from corruption within the education department. "We have to go through the entire [exam] syllabus [once more]. We are in no state to do that," said Ghosh, expressing the mental distress and distress felt by the affected teachers and their families.
- The West Bengal government is planning to deploy teachers barred from the fresh recruitment test in other government departments, as revealed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
- The state government has filed a review petition with the Supreme Court regarding the barring of certain school staffers from the new recruitment process, but no immediate response is expected due to the Court's summer recess.
- The fresh recruitment process in West Bengal will include 11,517 new posts for class 9 and 10 teachers, 9,912 posts for class 11 and 12 teachers, and 1,571 vacancies at the Group C and D level, totaling over 44,000 vacancies in all.
- Teachers who lost their jobs have expressed reservations about taking the fresh exams once more, with one leader claiming that the government is attempting to compel them to appear for the examination as a means to divert attention from corruption within the education department.
