West Bengal Board of Primary Education has decided to withdraw the termination letters of 268 teachers citing an interim order from the Supreme Court staying a Calcutta High Court order directing the termination after alleged irregularities were detected in their recruitment process.
The board in a letter to the respective district primary school councils on Monday evening said that it had decided to withdraw the termination letter, “allowing the 268 candidates to rejoin in compliance with the order of the Supreme Court, subject to their willingness for the time being, and/or until the issue is conclusively settled by the court”.
Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court had on June 13 directed the termination of the 268 teachers across the state.
Accordingly, the board withdrew the recommendation for appointment by issuing a letter to the chairpersons of the district primary councils concerned, said a board official.
Since the Supreme Court had on October 18 stayed the Calcutta High Court’s order, the recommendation for appointment has been restored, subject to the conclusive settlement of the issue by the apex court, he added.
Sources in the board said the Supreme Court, while staying the high court’s termination order, directed the individuals to file affidavits to defend their appointments.
Justice Gangopadhyay had on June 13 asked the CBI to file an FIR to initiate an investigation into the alleged illegal recruitment of teachers by the board based on the Teachers’ Eligibility Test held in 2015, following a notification in 2014.
The judge had asked 269 teachers (one was later exempted by the court), identified as appointed illegally, not to attend school and to refund the amount they had drawn as salary since their appointment.
These teachers were appointed in 2017 when Manik Bhattacharya was the president of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education.
In October, Bhattacharya was arrested by the CBI for his involvement in the alleged irregularities in the appointment. “Let the court decide the fate of these candidates,” said a board official.
FOR WELL-BEING
Monks pray at a Buddhist temple on Alipore Road on Sunday. Picture by Gautam Bose
The 15th Cheebar Dan Utsav was celebrated at the Alipore Buddha Vihar. As part of the festival, devotees donated clothes to monks. The ceremony was organised by Alipur Buddha Sangha.
Buddhapriya Mahathero, general secretary of the Indian Buddhist Sangha Mahasabha, and mayor Firhad Hakim were among the guests. “This festival is for the well-being of people of all religions. We want the life of every citizen of a pluralistic country to be happy,” Mahathero said.