‘Age Will Not Be A Barrier’: Mamata Offers Relief To Sacked Teachers, Announces Fresh WBSSC Recruitment

Mamata Banerjee announced fresh teacher recruitment for 44,203 posts by December 31, following a Supreme Court order that terminated 25,753 employees. A review petition is pending.

File Photo of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee

Source : PTI

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced that the state government would initiate a fresh recruitment process for school teachers and non-teaching staff, in compliance with the Supreme Court’s directive, while simultaneously pursuing a review petition to reinstate the 25,753 terminated employees.

Addressing a press conference, Banerjee said the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) will issue a recruitment notification on 30 May, and online applications will be accepted from 16 June to 14 July. The recruitment panel is expected to be released on 15 November, with counselling beginning on 20 November. The entire process will be completed by 31 December, as mandated by the Supreme Court.

“We have filed a review petition in the Supreme Court in the SSC judgment matter. But there is a summer vacation in the apex court at the moment. The earlier Chief Justice’s order has to be followed. If we don’t follow it, then it will be contempt of court,” Banerjee said, as quoted by ANI.

She clarified that 44,203 vacancies will be filled, including 24,203 existing posts, 11,517 newly created teaching posts for classes 9 and 10, 551 Group C posts, and 1,000 Group D posts.

Banerjee added that teachers who lost their jobs would be given age relaxation and credit for their experience in the fresh recruitment. “Age will not be a barrier. Those who lost their jobs will be allowed to sit for the exam even if they have crossed the usual age limit. They will also receive the benefit of their experience,” she said, as per PTI.

The Chief Minister emphasised that the government was left with no option but to proceed with fresh recruitment due to the apex court’s order. “We were waiting for the review petition to be heard for so long. We don’t want anyone to lose their job. But now since the review petition is pending, we are issuing notification by May 31 for fresh recruitment,” she said.

According to news agency IANS, she also took aim at political opponents, saying, “Some vested interests and selfish persons orchestrated that. Now they are trying to pose as friends of the job losers.”

Bengal Protesting Teachers Vowed Not To Sit For Fresh Tests

Thousands of terminated teaching and non-teaching staff have been staging protests for over 20 days near Bikash Bhavan. Many insist they qualified fairly in the 2016 SSC exams and demand reinstatement without having to sit for fresh exams.

Earlier, Brindaban Ghosh of the Deserving Teachers Rights Forum questioned, “Why should untainted teachers continue to be penalised for the illegalities committed by a section of candidates? Why can’t the available mirror OMR images be used to differentiate between the ‘tainted’ and ‘untainted’?”

Ghosh said the group would escalate their agitation to the national capital and highlighted that many affected candidates were suffering from severe health conditions, including cancer. “We again urge the state government to ensure that the tainted ones are singled out by checking every OMR sheet of about 26,000 candidates,” he said, as per PTI.

Another forum member, Habibur Rahman, expressed frustration over the lack of dialogue with senior ministers, stating that bureaucrats had expressed sympathy but said the matter was beyond their jurisdiction. “We will send a fresh mail to the Education Minister by tomorrow requesting a face-to-face discussion,” he added.

On 3 April, the Supreme Court upheld a Calcutta High Court order annulling 25,753 appointments through the WBSSC, stating the process was vitiated. It also criticised the failure of authorities to distinguish between tainted and untainted candidates, leading to the scrapping of the entire panel.

Education Minister Bratya Basu, on Sunday, urged protestors to trust the government, saying that those who lost jobs due to procedural lapses would continue receiving salaries until the recruitment process concludes. He warned them against falling prey to political motivations.