Teachers who lost their jobs after the court verdict, sat in a sit-in protest outside the office of the School Services Commission (SSC) to demand their backing, in Kolkata on April 21. Image source: ANI
Story so far:
Last week, hundreds of state-run teachers decided to cancel an incitement after a few days of protests outside the headquarters of the West Bengal School Services Commission (WBSSC) in the Salt Lake Region of Kolkata. The protests broke out on April 21 after a 2016 pledge to publicly put on the list of “contaminated” and “uncontaminated” candidates during the recruitment process.
What does the government say?
The government said it has sent a list of “contaminated” and “uncontaminated” candidates to school inspectors. Protesters said they will return to school and resume protests within a few days. On April 26, another group of protesting employees, non-teachers from state-run schools, met with the state government. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that as long as the matter is heard in court, the state government will allocate Rs 25,000 to employees in Group C and Rs 20,000 per month for employees in Group D.
What did the court rule?
These developments follow the Supreme Court order of April 3, which upheld the Kolkata High Court ruling of April 22, 2024, canceling 25,752 appointments of teaching and non-teaching personnel in the state schools. The recruitment process was conducted by WBSSC in 2016. The bench, composed of Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar, agreed with the High Court’s ruling that the selection process was “covered and full of troubles” by both manipulation and fraud.
The Supreme Court and the Kolkata High Court ordered the termination of the entire teaching group and non-teaching staff as neither the WBSSC nor the West Bengal government made a list of “polluted” and “unpolluted” candidates in the court. The loss of appointments of approximately 25,000 teaching staff and non-teachers in the 19,000 schools raises serious questions about the state’s school operations.
What relief is there?
On April 17, the Supreme Court provided some relief to the West Bengal government by allowing services of “uncontaminated” teachers until the new recruitment process was completed by the end of 2025, but no such order was passed to retain the new recruitment process.
After the April 17 order, pressure was put on the state government and the WBSSC to release the list of “polluted” and “unpolluted” candidates. However, the state insists that teachers will receive salaries. “You don’t have to worry about who is contaminated, who doesn’t. However, protest teachers who met with WBSSC pointed out that 15,403 of the 17,206 teachers recruited during 2016 were “uncontaminated” and were eligible to continue teaching until the end of 2025.
As West Bengal schools recruitment scam continues to make headlines, the biggest problem on the list is the number of “contaminated” and “uncontaminated” recruits. Protesters say it is not only about salary, but also about dignity, but also the need to separate the grain from the chaff.
When will the scam appear?
The school recruitment scam stood out, with former state school education secretary Partha Chatterjee arrested in July 2022 by the Law Enforcement Bureau. Subsequently, several arrests were arrested in the scam, involving cash education efforts.
publishing – April 30, 2025 at 08:30 am IST
