KOLKATA: A day after the Supreme Court cancelled the appointment of nearly 25,700 teachers and staff in West Bengal’s government and aided schools over recruitment irregularities, many of those affected expressed outrage and said the verdict has plunged them into uncertainty. They said they were recruited on merit but are now paying the price for corruption in the exam.
The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) on Friday said it would abide by the verdict and soon initiate the process of conducting fresh exams for all teaching and non-teaching candidates, who took part in the now-invalidated 2016 job recruitment exercise.
Krishnamritika Nath, a teacher employed at Raigunj Kailash Chandra Radharani Bidyapith, said, “I was a topper studied at Rabindra Bharati University and got a gold medal from the Governor. How far I have to prove my merit. I’m the sole bread earner in the family. My parents survived through my income. After I heard this verdict I was shocked. I don’t know where to go now.”
Another teacher said, “We cracked a competitive exam and got a job. Some people resorted to corruption. But those untainted like us were expecting that we would be able to continue in our jobs. This judgment has destroyed our lives.” WBSSC chairman Siddhartha Majumder said, “We already got a letter from the state government regarding the Supreme Court order. We have started taking legal advice.”
He said that given the large volume of candidates involved, the completion of the selection process within three months is unlikely. “We will initiate the process of starting fresh examination of 22 lakh candidates as soon as possible. We will also send our recommendations to the school education department, but cannot share further details now,” Majumdar said.
Heads of many schools said that after the verdict, they are facing a crisis of teachers for holding classes and tests. A headmistress said, “Today, we have our first summative (unit test). I have requested the teachers to stay since the notification is yet to come. But after the notification what will happen?”