Education minister Bratya Basu on Tuesday said the West Bengal School Service Commission had filed an affidavit in the high court stating that the education department was ready to recruit “deserving” candidates as teachers by cancelling the appointments of those who had been “recruited under exceptional circumstances” without adhering to the merit list.
A second option in the affidavit, the minister said, states the government is ready to appoint all the waitlisted candidates who are protesting near the Maidan over the past 562 days alleging irregularities in recruitments, by increasing the number of supernumerary (additional) posts that have been created.
“The state government has created supernumerary (additional) posts for those who have suffered following recommendations in contravention of the order of merit by mistake while appointing teachers. Following this, the SSC (school service commission) has placed an appeal before the court today. If the court allows, the SSC is ready to appoint all those whose names feature on the waiting list and who have suffered because of the jumping of ranks.... This is the first of the two appeals placed before the court through an affidavit,” the minister said at Bikash Bhavan.
“The second appeal is that if the court agrees, we are ready to cancel all appointments made under exceptional circumstances and the resultant vacant positions will be filled by the SSC.”
Basu said the chief minister was of the view that scrapping appointments would “amount to endangering the lives of those who rely on the earning member, working as a teacher in a school”.
An official of the school department said the two appeals had been made before Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay in regard to the Group C and D posts, too.
Basu urged the teaching aspirants who have been holding a sit-in over the past 562 days off the Maidan alleging irregularities “to withdraw their protest and spend the Puja with their family”.
“We are committed to resolving their problems as far as possible following orders of the court,” Basu said.
“The commission has detected 957 appointments under extraordinary circumstances in Group C and D. The count stands at 222 for appointment of teachers for Classes IX to XII. The commission is still continuing the process of detecting cases of jumping ranks, following a court order,” said Basu.
