The Primary Education Board has introduced a new interview process to ensure the process of hiring new teaching staff for primary institutions remains smooth, transparent, and time-efficient. As part of the new changes, interviews and the process of vetting information will take place within specially designed, soundproof rooms referred to as ‘state-of-the-art cubicles.’ The entire process is expected to be complete by February.
Reportedly, as per officials, the soundproofing ensures that no external noise enters the rooms and that no conversation from inside can be heard outside. This is aimed at maintaining confidentiality and preventing any external influence during the interview process.
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Advanced monitoring and online evaluation
As per multiple reports, sources said that, in every cubicle, multiple advanced cameras will be used to record the process of verifying the information provided and the interview process. A total of 20 cubicles has been set up. In the cubicle, the interview will be performed by three experts using different laptops.
Communication between the professionals on candidates’ marks, merits, and experience would not be permitted. Marks for information verification, interviews and class demonstrations will be awarded online, ensuring that the evaluation process remains independent and traceable.
The Board said that the facility is able to process interviews or background information checks simultaneously for as many as 1,500 to 2,500 job applicants, thus increasing the recruitment speed.
Recruitment timeline and current status
There are 13,421 vacant slots in the primary education. The process of information verification and interviews has already started. In the first phase, only candidates from English medium schools were invited.
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English-medium school interviews were carried out towards the end of the year over a period of two days. Of the 235 short-listed candidates who attended the interview, 50 were disqualified as they had given discrepant information. The interview session was also completely video-graphed. A total of 10 cubicles were arranged; only six were utilised since the number of applicants was lower.
Next phase from late January
According to board officials, the recruitment through interviews for joining the Bengali subjects or any other subject would begin from the third week of January. Primary Education Board Chairman Gautam Pal said the modernisation is intended to complete the recruitment process swiftly and transparently, with the target of finishing it within February.
