Summary
The education minister said the state government had in May 2022 decided to create 5,261 additional (supernumerary) teaching and non-teaching posts, which would be filled with candidates who had written the recruitment test conducted by the SSC in 2016
Education minister Bratya Basu on Monday said the government is consulting the state’s advocate general to resolve the stalemate over the recruitment of teachers in government-aided schools.
The minister met teaching job aspirants who have been protesting on the Maidan for over 1,000 days alleging irregularities in recruitments.
Some of the protesters met the minister at Bikash Bhavan, the headquarters of the education department.
“We are taking the opinion of the advocate general. A meeting with him has been scheduled for Monday. I will attend the meeting along with the education secretary, chairman of the school service commission (SSC) and others,” Basu said after meeting the aspirants.
“We want to resolve the impasse at the earliest. Whatever we do will be backed by law.”
A test for the selection of assistant teachers for Classes IX to XII in government-aided schools was last held in November 2016 by the SSC.
There were 12,905 vacant posts of assistant teacher for Classes IX and X and 5,711 for Classes XI and XII when the test was held.
A section of the candidates who had written the test has been recruited, but another section moved court alleging irregularities in the appointments.
The education minister said the state government had in May 2022 decided to create 5,261 additional (supernumerary) teaching and non-teaching posts, which would be filled with candidates who had written the recruitment test conducted by the SSC in 2016.
The high court later ordered a CBI probe into the purported motive behind an application filed before a single-judge bench seeking permission to create supernumerary posts and certain other moves with regard to the allegedly illegal recruitment of teachers.
The Supreme Court had in November last year stayed the high court order.
“There is a cabinet notification. At the same time there is a stay by the Supreme Court. The advocate general will now guide us how we can go ahead…. Whenever we give them jobs, we will do it legally. We will see to it that there is no irregularity,” said Basu.
“We want to resolve the stalemate somehow. These protesters have been sitting on the street for so many days.”.
Trinamul spokesperson Kunal Ghosh accompanied the protesters to Bikash Bhavan.
Ghosh said: “There are certain administrative steps. We want to do it in a way so there are no fresh legal challenges.”
Last updated on 12 Mar 2024
