A recent Calcutta High Court order had declared that the process by which about 25,753 teachers were given appointment was ‘null and void’. As a result, these teachers have ended up being rendered jobless. They were recruited via the State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST) and appointed at West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools.
The High Court further ordered that those appointed beyond the official number of 24,640 vacancies, after the official date of recruitment had expired, and those who submitted blank Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets and yet were appointed, were to return all remunerations and benefits received by them with 12 per cent interest per annum within four weeks.
The West Bengal government, however, has now approached the Supreme Court to challenge the order. In fact, it is considering paying the salaries of the concerned teachers and non-teaching staff till the SC gives its verdict.
Therefore, over 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff appointed and working in the schools aided or sponsored by the state government may receive their salaries for April even though their appointments were cancelled by the Calcutta HC. After all, they have worked for almost the entire month of April.
It is pertinent to mention here that the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) had submitted a list of candidates to the High Court in whose case irregularities had emerged in the recruitment process. The irregularities were related to Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheet manipulation and rank jumps. This list had about 5,300 names. However, the HC was not satisfied with this list.
