Latest news with #WestBengalSchoolServiceCommission
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Edit option for SSC aspirants to update OBC category details
Kolkata: The West Bengal School Service Commission will give an edit option to candidates for updating their OBC category details following the Supreme Court order. Along with this, other state recruitments, including those of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, which was paused due to the OBC issue is likely to start again. The portal for receiving applications from candidates who will appear for fresh state level selection test (SLST) closed on July 21. The sorting process is now underway. Sources said the vacancy list for 35,725 assistant teachers is expected to come from the state via West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. After that, the commission will declare dates for availing of the edit option where candidates will get options for updating category details. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata The commission has already declared exam dates which will be held on Sept 7 and 14. Sources said such revisions will be made before issuing admit cards for the exams. An official said, "We need to make all required changes when the portal is static. It would be difficult to make such major changes when the system starts functioning again." Total 5.8 lakh applications have been received. The commission on Tuesday is likely to meet its server experts to conduct this process smoothly as they are expecting over 80% of candidates will avail of the edit option to upload category-related documents. According to a senior Bengal govt lawyer, "Due to this impasse, applicants who fell within the OBC category as per the 2025 list could not apply. The reservation based on the pre-2010 matrix was also 7%. Now it will be increased to 17%. With the uncertainty over, the state bodies can now go ahead and complete the process as per the 2025 OBC list."
The Hindu
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
‘Untainted' teachers and non-teaching staff left in the lurch, both in Kolkata and Delhi
Kolkata After holding protests in Kolkata for months, the 'untainted' teachers and non-teaching staff whose jobs were axed after the April 3 Supreme Court order headed to Delhi to make their grievances heard, but they were left in the lurch in both places. This came after the last date to fill up the form for the fresh recruitment process by West Bengal School Service Commission came to an end on July 21. A group of representatives went to Delhi's Ramlila Maidan and staged protests between July 23-25, to make their voices heard in the national capital. 150 members of the 'untainted' teachers and 15 'untainted' non-teaching staff participated in the protests. They met with Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Sarad Pawar, they also filed deputations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday (July 24, 2025). 'We were not part of the corruption, we rightfully got jobs in 2016, why do we have to do the process again? Many of the teachers also could not apply due to the new exam rules,' Shubhojit Das of 'Joggya Sikkhak Sikkhika Adhikar Mancha' (Deserving Teachers' Rights Forum) said. Mr Das also said that they have filed over 190 review petitions at the Supreme Court to reconsider their April 3 order, which cancelled the jobs of all candidates in the 2016 panel and restore the jobs of the 'untainted' candidates with dignity. Teachers had appealed at both Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court against the new recruitment rules of the SSC where the eligibility criteria of the 2025 exams are different from 2016 making the process harder for older candidates. The appeals were rejected on both accounts. Around 13,000 of the 15,403 'untainted' teachers have filed out the fresh recruitment form. The teacher forum held a press conference on Thursday (July 24, 2025) at the Delhi Press Club. Academic community members warned that their 'retrenchment' was part of a 'design to systematically destroy government schooling.' 'Where will students in rural areas, in small towns, from poor and lower-middle-class backgrounds go?' questioned Mehboob Mondal, a member of JSSAM. 'Many among us are first-generation teachers teaching first-generation learners. Are we not entitled to jobs that we earned through massive hard work? Why are we being made scapegoats in the power tussle between the Central and State governments?' Academicians present at the press conference lent strong support to the cause. Economist Atul Sood of JNU said, 'The attack on government schools is part of the same policy that also imposes the rules of business owners on working people… These are anti-worker, anti-people policies.' Jamia Milia Islamia professor Debaditya Bhattacharya remarked, 'No one in the system cares because this goes well with the National Education Policy that prescribes closing down government schools and colleges.' Similar concerns were echoed by faculty from Delhi University and Ambedkar University, who warned that government schooling was being hollowed out through structural defunding and policy neglect. Meanwhile, the WBSSC on Thursday (July 24, 2025) announced September 7 and 14 as the dates for fresh recruitment exams for assistant teacher posts. A total of 35,726 posts in state-aided and sponsored schools are up for grabs in the new recruitment cycle and according to SSC officials over 5 lakh candidates have applied. 'How will we appear for exams when we have been on the roads demanding justice for so many months? They are trying all ways to make it harder for us,' Mr Das added. On April 17, the Supreme Court allowed 'untainted' candidates to continue in service until December 31, or until a fresh selection process is completed, but the same relaxation was not given to the non-teaching staff. The thousands of non-teaching staff have not received any salary since last April and on multiple occasions have said that their families are struggling to make ends meet.
India Today
23-07-2025
- Politics
- India Today
West Bengal School Service Commission gets 5.9 lakh teacher applications
The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) has received an overwhelming response to its latest recruitment drive, with close to 5.9 lakh candidates applying for assistant teacher posts in state-run and state-aided secondary and higher secondary schools.'This year, between 5.8 and 5.9 lakh applications have come in for assistant teacher positions,' confirmed WBSSC Chairman Siddhartha numbers are almost double compared to the 2016 recruitment cycle, which had seen around 3.16 lakh applications, 1.41 lakh for Classes 9 and 10, and 1.75 lakh for Classes 11 and The surge in applications comes after a Supreme Court order in April this year directed the state government and WBSSC to restart the hiring process following the cancellation of over 25,000 appointments made in 2016. These appointments were deemed invalid after the court flagged irregularities in the earlier recruitment process. The apex court asked the commission to complete the new recruitment drive by December 31, line with the court's directive, the WBSSC launched the online application portal on June 16, with the registration window closing on July 21. The recruitment will fill a total with 35,726 teaching vacancies across West Bengal's secondary and higher secondary some backlash from a section of former teachers who lost their jobs due to the court verdict and had initially said they would boycott the new exams, the response has been robust. Many teachers who were not found guilty of any wrongdoing in the 2016 appointments have to WBSSC officials, around 13,000 of the 15,403 teachers who were cleared of any misconduct and allowed to continue temporarily until fresh recruitment have now applied again through the ongoing process. These teachers are set to appear for the upcoming State Level Selection Test (SLST).The Calcutta High Court had earlier greenlit the fresh recruitment process, endorsing the stricter, student-centric rules introduced this time the application phase now over, all eyes are on SLST and how the commission executes the next steps in this high-stakes hiring process.(With PTI inputs)- EndsMust Watch
Indian Express
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
WBSSC Teacher Recruitment Exam: 5.9 lakh candidates apply for teaching jobs in Bengal schools
The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) has received nearly 5.9 lakh applications for teaching positions in its fresh recruitment drive — almost double the number recorded in 2016. Senior officials of the WBSSC informed that around 5.9 lakh candidates applied for the 35,726 assistant teacher posts at secondary and higher secondary levels in state-run and state-aided schools. The corresponding figure in 2016 was around 3.16 lakh. The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday cleared the way for fresh recruitment, stating that the updated rules are stricter and more focused on students' interests. After scrapping the appointments of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff in government-aided schools — calling the 2016 recruitment process 'tainted' — the Supreme Court, in April this year, directed the state government and the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) to conduct a fresh recruitment drive and complete it by year-end. In response, the WBSSC issued a notification on May 30 to recruit 35,726 teachers — 23,312 for classes 9 and 10, and 12,514 for classes 11 and 12. The initial application deadline of July 14 was later extended to July 21. The online application portal was launched as per Supreme Court directions on June 16 and the last date to register was July 21. The top court mandated the West Bengal government and the commission to complete the recruitment process before December 31 this year. 'Some 5.8-5.9 lakh candidates have applied for the posts of assistant teachers in state-run and state-aided secondary and higher-secondary schools,' WBSSC Chairman Siddhartha Majumdar said. 'While a total of 1.41 lakh candidates had applied for classes 9-10 in 2016, another 1.75 lakh candidates had registered for teaching positions for classes 11-12 that year,' an official said, quoting commission records. The increase in the number of applications this year was recorded despite the assertion of a section of disgruntled teachers – who claimed eligibility for their appointments, yet lost their jobs on account of the apex court verdict – that they wouldn't sit for fresh tests to get recruited. Commission officials revealed that a significant majority of teachers found 'not tainted' in the discredited 2016 appointment have freshly applied for jobs. 'Nearly 13,000 of the 15,403 teachers, who were 'not found to be specifically tainted' by the commission and whose names it had forwarded to the offices of Directorate of Education (DI) in districts for continuation in service till the new recruitment process gets over, have applied for the vacant posts for which State Level Selection Test (SLST) will be held later this year,' another SSC official said. — with inputs from PTI
India Today
18-07-2025
- Politics
- India Today
5 lakh applications for 35,726 teacher vacancies in West Bengal schools
More than 5 lakh aspirants have applied for 35,726 assistant teacher posts in West Bengal's state-run and state-aided schools, according to the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC). The application portal, which opened on June 16, was initially set to close on July 14 but has now been extended to July large-scale recruitment comes in the wake of a major overhaul following a Supreme Court directive. In April, the apex court annulled the entire 2016 State Level Selection Test (SLST) panel and cancelled the appointments of 25,753 candidates, including teachers for Classes 9 to 12 and Group C and D in response to the fresh recruitment drive, WBSSC Chairman Siddhartha Majumdar said the application numbers have already crossed the 5 lakh mark, and are likely to increase further in the coming days. The WBSSC had issued the recruitment notification on May 30, following the Supreme Court's instruction to begin the hiring process. The state was also directed to submit a compliance affidavit by May in 2016, the commission received applications from over 3 lakh candidates for similar teaching posts, another official the court's ruling in April, the WBSSC reviewed the status of those appointed in 2016. It found that 15,403 of the 17,206 teachers were not directly implicated in malpractice and allowed them to continue drawing salaries until December. However, 1,804 teachers were barred from returning to the WBSSC clarified that the current recruitment drive is being conducted in compliance with the court's orders and remains subject to the outcome of the review petition filed by both the commission and the state government. The Calcutta High Court has also recently turned down the state's plea to allow ineligible candidates from the previous panel to to the developments, Chinmoy Mondal of the 'Deserving Teachers' Rights Forum' expressed concerns about the pace of the fresh hiring. 'Many of those who cleared the 2016 exams are now seeing their former students apply for the same posts,' he said. He argued that the commission should have focused on making a solid legal case for the untainted candidates rather than rushing into a new also demanded greater transparency, suggesting that the state should have published a verified list of clean candidates or released the OMR sheets publicly, given that the matter is still under judicial review.(With PTI inputs)- EndsMust Watch
