The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) Monday appealed to the Supreme Court to allow teachers “not found to be tainted” to continue services until the end of the academic year “or until the process of fresh appointments is concluded, whichever is earlier”.
On April 3, the SC nullified over 25,000 school jobs in West Bengal, while upholding a Calcutta High Court Order on an alleged school jobs scam case which is being probed by the CBI. The apex court termed the 2016 School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment process as “vitiated and tainted by fraud”.
The WBBSE stated in the appeal, “The applicant has under its supervision 9,487 high schools, of which 6,952 have higher secondary sections (Class XI and XII), catering to over 78.6 lakh students. The Applicant Board also oversees 6,350 upper primary schools (Class VI-VIII). Pertinently, in the State, about 88% enrolments are in government /government-aided schools.”
“The teacher strength of 1,51,568 (excluding headmasters]) in the State is already strained, with most schools relying on a single teacher per subject for Classes V to X. Services of 17,206 out of the 1,51,568 teachers, i.e. 11.35% of the existing teachers are to be terminated pursuant to the judgment, which would have a devastating impact across the schools in the State,” the appeal read.
Incidentally, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a meeting at Netaji Indoor Stadium on Monday with teachers who are expected to lose their jobs, assuring them of her support, and that her administration would submit a review petition to the Supreme Court.
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