Following a court order, 1,982 more candidates will get jobs in West Bengal's primary schools. The Primary Education Board said in a notification issued on Wednesday that the appointments are being made as per Supreme Court directions. The notification also included the list of selected candidates.
Why were these candidates left out earlier?
These 1,982 candidates had applied under the 2022 recruitment drive for nearly 12,000 primary teacher posts. They were students of the D.L.Ed course (2020-22 batch) and had not completed their course when the recruitment process began. As a result, the board did not appoint them at that time.
The candidates later moved to the High Court, which ruled that they should be considered even if their course was incomplete. After interviews, many of them were found to have scored higher than candidates who were already appointed. This raised concerns that existing appointments might be cancelled, leading to legal complications.
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Supreme Court's decision
The matter eventually reached the Supreme Court, where a contempt of court case was also filed. It was later decided that these 1,982 candidates would be appointed against additional vacant posts, ensuring that those already in service would not be affected.
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The contempt case is scheduled to be heard again on January 9. Board President Gautam Pal said the candidates were selected strictly on merit and in line with court orders. He also clarified that these appointments will not affect the ongoing recruitment process for 13,421 vacant primary teacher posts.
