The CBI has written to the West Bengal Board of Primary Education, seeking documents related to TET (Teachers’ Eligibility Test) 2014 in connection with the ongoing probe into the selection “process of assistant teachers of primary schools from TET 2014 in an unfair manner”.
The examination was held in 2015 following a notification the year before.
A deputy superintendent of police, SIT (special investigation team), CBI, ACB (anti-corruption branch), wrote to the president of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education on April 25, seeking a list containing the roll numbers of candidates who had written TET 2014, names and addresses of the schools where they had joined, present status of appointment and their contact numbers.
The letter, signed by Sanjay Kumar Samal of the CBI, says the communication refers to a case that was registered on June 9 last year in compliance with an order passed by Calcutta High Court the day before.
“The case was registered… on alleged offences committed by unknown office bearers of the board in conducting TET 2014 and subsequent selection of assistant teachers… in an unfair manner to give appointment to the ineligible candidates,” the letter says.
“It is, therefore, requested the concerned authorities of the district primary councils may please be directed to provide the aforesaid list with signature and seal on each page along with the soft copy of the said list in the Excel format in pen drive through an official of the concerned district who can explain the said list to the undersigned,” the letter says.
Calls and text messages from this newspaper to Samal failed to elicit any response.
Partha Karmakar, deputy secretary of the primary board, wrote to the chairpersons of the district primary councils on Tuesday: “You are further requested to produce the relevant documents to CBI as per dates mentioned in the said memo. This should be treated as EXTREMELY URGENT”.
When contacted by this newspaper, Karmakar declined to comment.
Swapan Mandal, of the Bengal Teachers’ and Employees Association, said: “The letter from the CBI speaks volumes about the massive irregularities in the appointment of teachers at primary schools. If the teachers whose appointments have been questioned lose their jobs, we won’t have adequate teachers. The students will suffer”.
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