KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Monday cancelled the 2016 job panel for SSC teachers' recruitment for classes 9-12.
The Court cancelled the panel created by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSCC) upon finding that the recruitment had taken place illegally as a result of the infamous cash-for-jobs scam.
A division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Shabbar Rashidi have passed the order which is slated to affect nearly 24,000 jobs. The bench further directed that those teachers whose appointment.
These observations came after the bench had ordered the re-evaluation of the OMR sheets from the 2016 recruitment exam in the ongoing proceedings in the cash-for-jobs multi-tier recruitment scam.
It was found during the re-evaluation that the teachers recruited on the panel had been recruited illegally since they had been recruited against blank OMR sheets. Court ordered those recruited in such a way to immediately surrender the salaries drawn by them to the jurisdictional magistrate.
Accordingly, it cancelled all recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff which took place through the WBSSC exam in 2016, and directed the commission to re-draw the panel by initiating a fresh recruitment process.
The CBI has also been directed to look into the matter and submit its report to the Court.
It may be noted that in 2014 the West Bengal School Service Commission announced that the state level selection test would be used to recruit teachers for West Bengal state run schools.
The actual recruitment process started in 2016. However, the process met with innumerable challenges , including several petitions filed in Calcutta High Court alleging irregularities in the recruitment process. The petitioners claimed that many candidates who received lower grades were placed higher on the merit list. There were allegations that those who did not make into the merit list received appointment letters.
In another case in 2016, the West Bengal government directed the School Service Commission to hire approximately 13,000 Group D employees for state run and government-aided schools. By 2019 the panel tasked with making these appointments had expired. During the hearing it was said that 25 people were recruited from this panel . Over 500 people were appointed and they are getting salaries from the state government.
A CBI investigation was launched in response to an order from former Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay.
The CBI’s FIR alleged irregularities in the TET 2014 primary selection process, claiming that incorrect questions and answers were used to exclude eligible candidates.
Justice Gangopadhyay said “ I have said in my verdict earlier that Mamata government is a corrupt government. I thank the Calcutta High Court for giving such an order. Now a can of worms will be opened”.