Latest news with #ShubhojitDas
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
What's the guarantee that the new recruitment will be fair, ask West Bengal's teachers
The protesting teachers of West Bengal, who recently lost their jobs over a 'vitiated and tainted' selection process, have questioned whether fresh recruitments would remain free of fraud, after the West Bengal government issued notifications for a new selection test. Despite certain relaxations specifically for the teachers who lost their jobs after a Supreme Court order on April 3, the teachers have stayed firm on their demand for their exemption from the new selection process. Also Read | Police detain teachers protesting against Bengal government's fresh recruitment notification The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) and the School Education Department of the West Bengal government published gazette notifications on May 30 for fresh appointments of assistant teachers in upper primary, secondary and higher secondary classes in State-run and State-aided schools. SC directive This followed a Supreme Court order directing the West Bengal government to complete fresh recruitments by the end of this year, after nearly 26,000 teaching and non-teaching staff appointments were cancelled by the top court over widespread fraud in the 2016 hiring process. In the gazette notifications for this year's State Level Selection Test (SLST), the WBSSC and Education department have given an age relaxation for the 'sacked' teachers, as per the Supreme Court directive. The usual age limit is a minimum of 21 years and a maximum of 40 years as on January 1, 2025. Moreover, additional marks are being offered for prior teaching experience and lecture demonstration. While the written examination carries a weightage of 60 marks, an additional weightage of 10 marks each has been given to prior teaching experience and lecture demonstration, for candidates of classes 9 to 12. It is worth noting that the teachers, now on protest, were appointed in 2019, accounting for around seven years of teaching experience. However, this has not brought any comfort to the protesting teachers. 'It is surprising that the WBSSC and the West Bengal government, which were accused of widespread fraud in the 2016 recruitments, have once again been delegated the task of carrying out fresh recruitments. What guarantee do we have that there will not be any corruption this time?' Shubhojit Das, a protesting teacher of the Jogyo Shikkhok Shikkhika Adhikar Mancha asked. 'No fair competition' Highlighting the Supreme Court directive that allowed the 'sacked teachers' to hold their current jobs till December 31, he said that juggling work with preparations would put them at a disadvantage if they were to appear for this year's SLST. 'Even if we agreed to a re-examination, this is not a fair competition by any means. We are expected to prepare for SLST while simultaneously working and performing our existing teaching duties,' Mr. Das told The Hindu. Also the syllabus for the written examination is different from what they taught in schools. BJP legislator Abhijit Gangopadhyay called the fresh recruitment 'discriminatory' owing to the additional marks being given for prior teaching experience. 'The government's notification was for all candidates, including those who will be appearing without any prior teaching experience. But out of the 10 marks, they will not get any marks in that segment and will fall behind in a competitive examination. This will keep happening in their following attempts… I do not understand the reason behind this discrimination,' Mr. Gangopadhyay said. The BJP MP from West Bengal's Tamluk had ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff by the WBSSC and West Bengal Board of Secondary Education in 2022, during his tenure as a Calcutta High Court judge.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Police detain teachers protesting against Bengal government's fresh recruitment notification
Police came down heavily on 'untainted' teachers continuing their protests across Kolkata and Bidhannagar on Friday May 30, 2025) after they decided to take out a rally to the State Secretariat to protest the issue of a notification for a fresh selection process. The West Bengal government issued a notification announcing a new State Level Selection Test for the recruitment of teachers for State-run schools, after the Supreme Court on April 3 cancelled the 2016 recruited panel over widespread occurrence of fraud. The apex court had directed the government to initiate fresh recruitments by May 31. On Friday, police detained protesters from various parts of the city who were reportedly on their way to join the rally. Hundreds of protesters were apprehended from places like Sealdah and Esplanade in Central Kolkata, and from outside the State education department headquarters in Bidhannagar. Shubhojit Das, a member of the Jogyo Shikkhok Shikkhika Adhikar Mancha (JSSAM), claimed that protesters were asked to show identification and were detained from public places like buses, shops, shopping malls etc. 'We had decided to hold a shirtless rally to the State Secretariat at Nabanna today. We wanted to convey our message directly to the Chief Minister because we think our message is not reaching her. However, several of us were detained before the rally could even properly take off,' Mr. Das told The Hindu. The march to Nabana was also to protest the temporary detention of the six teachers who had demanded to meet the Chief Minister on Thursday, and to seek justice for the teacher who reportedly passed away of 'stress-induced stroke' during the protests, he added. Speaking about the detentions, Divisional Commissioner of Police (Central) Indira Mukherjee said, 'We had no information of any gathering or protest in my jurisdiction (Esplanade) area. Because this is a restricted area, we took necessary action… Law and order is our subject, but if the teachers take law and order into their own hands, then we will have to take action.' According to the new recruitment notification, applications were to be submitted between June 16 and July 14 this year. The exam and interview would be held between September and November. 'We are not at all happy about this new notification being issued. We were selected in an honest manner once, so we will not appear for re-examination. We want our jobs to stay as they were,' Hanjela Sheikh, a protesting teacher, said. He added that his fellow protesters were also aggrieved that the government had announced deadlines for a fresh process before the Supreme Court decide on the State's review petition. 'Instead of making us appear for re-examination, the government could have rescreened the OMR sheets from the 2016 panel to bring forth a new merit list if necessary,' Mr. Sheikh suggested.
