KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Friday terminated job of 36,000 primary school teachers who were recruited in 2016. The order was in response to petitions alleging many primary school teachers were recruited though they obtained marks lower than other untrained candidates.
Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay terminated the whole panel of recruited teachers after the court found employment of many teachers was illegitimate. In his order, Justice Gangopadhyay said the teachers would be allowed to work for another four months but their pay scale would be equivalent to para-teachers, which is much lower.
He directed the state government to complete fresh recruitment process in next three months. He made it clear in his order that if anyone has undergone training after getting job in a primary school, he or she will be allowed to participate in the fresh recruitment process.
A total of 140 candidates petitioned in the HC saying the merit list published following the court’s order showed many recruited teachers got lower marks than the petitioners and several of them were given jobs on the basis of recommendations.
Tarunjyoti Tiwari, lawyer of one of the petitioners, said the 140 petitioners were not called for interview, though they obtained more marks than 824 recruited teachers. During the hearing, Justice Gangopadhyay asked the board of primary education to examine the performance of the petitioners. The board, however, decided to challenge Justice Gangopadhyay’s order. “We will move the division bench against the order,” said a board official.
Last month the Supreme Court directed the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to transfer two of the cases related to alleged malpractice in recruitment in West Bengal’s primary schools from the court of Justice Gangopadhyay.