In recent turn of events, all of the 2016 recruiting has been canceled by the Calcutta High Court. This implies that nearly 24,000 teachers may lose their jobs. The decision issued by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay creates questions regarding teachers’ job security and opens the door for a new hiring procedure.
After numerous claims of irregularities in the West Bengal School Service Commission’s (WBSSC) 2016 selection process, the court reached this ruling. Partha Chatterjee, a former state education minister, was arrested earlier this year in connection with the suspected fraud. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been looking into the matter since 2019.
The court found evidence suggesting that unqualified candidates were offered positions while qualified applicants were overlooked. Discrepancies in the marking system and a lack of adherence to proper recruitment procedures were also identified.
After their recent verdict, the court has also mandated the commission to initialize a fresh recruitment process.m This has created a sense of uncertainty for the teachers appointed in 2016. The cancellation of the allegedly tainted 2016 recruitment process also offers a chance to participate in a fair and transparent selection procedure for aspiring candidates.
The process was initiated in 2014 when the West Bengal government announced for State Level Selection Test to fill vacant positions in public schools. But after a while candidates who applied for the teaching jobs claimed the selection process was unfair, with lower-scoring individuals inexplicably placed on the ranking list. They also alleged that even unqualified individuals who were not listed received job offers.
Additionally, in 2016, the West Bengal School Service Commission, tasked with hiring additional school staff(approximately 13,000 positions), reportedly missed a deadline to complete the recruitment process in 2019. Despite this, rumours surface that at least 25 individuals secured jobs through the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education after the deadline had passed.
The WBSSC recruiting scandal is still being looked into by the CBI. The main focus is on claims of nepotism, bribery, and selection process manipulation. As the investigation progresses, more arrests are expected.
The court issued the ruling in response to numerous complaints alleging irregularities in the 2016 West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) hiring procedure. A former state minister of educat, Partha Chatterjee was taken into custody earlier this year associated with the alleged scam. The Central Bureau of Investigation has been continuously investigating the situation since 2019
