WB education board seeks SC intervention on job cancellations affecting 25,000 teachers

A senior official from the state education department has confirmed that the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) has filed a request with the Supreme Court to modify a recent ruling that annulled over 25,000 school job appointments.

The board's legal team has requested that candidates not found guilty of any wrongdoing be allowed to retain their positions until the end of the academic year or until new appointments are made, whichever comes first.

This request follows the Supreme Court's affirmation of a previous decision by the Calcutta High Court, which concluded that fraud had undermined the 2016 School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment process.

The case is currently being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The WBBSE warned that significant disruptions to education across the state would occur if such a large number of employees were dismissed.

The Board is responsible for overseeing 9,487 secondary schools, 6,952 of which provide education up to Year 12.

In addition, it serves nearly 7.86 million students through its 6,350 upper primary schools, which educate students in classes 6 to 8.

The Board emphasized in its appeal that 88% of students in West Bengal are enrolled in government or government-supported schools.

With the exception of headteachers, there are currently 151,568 teachers employed.

Schools would face severe strain if 17,206 workers, or about 11.35% of the entire teaching workforce, were dismissed.

Many of these schools rely on just one teacher per subject for classes 5 to 10.

SSC Chairman Siddhartha Majumdar said that the Commission would soon petition the Supreme Court for clarification on some aspects of the ruling and to comply with the court's instructions.

Previously, Education Minister Bratya Basu mentioned that the Supreme Court had expressed dissatisfaction with the SSC's defense and that the Commission would seek the court’s guidance on the next steps.

Many of those affected have said that the Commission's failure to distinguish between individuals who obtained their jobs legally and those who engaged in fraudulent activities is what led to their dismissal.