The Calcutta High Court Today (Aug 28) directed the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) to complete the appointment process for 14,052 candidates as assistant teachers in state government-sponsored and -aided upper primary schools within 12 weeks.
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WEST BENGAL: The Calcutta High Court issued a directive to the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) to complete the appointment process for 14,052 candidates as assistant teachers in state government-sponsored and -aided upper primary schools within a 12-week timeframe.
This decision was made by a division bench consisting of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Partha Sarathi Chatterjee, following the hearing of 36 appeals related to various orders from a single bench that had challenged the appointment process initiated through the State Level Selection Test (SLST) of 2016.
In its judgment, the court instructed the SSC to prepare and publish the final merit list and the panel of 14,052 candidates within four weeks from the date of the order.
The bench further directed that, within the subsequent four weeks, the SSC must conduct counseling sessions and recommend all 14,052 candidates who participated in the personality test for appointment.
Following these recommendations, the court ordered that the competent authority must issue appointment letters to the selected candidates within another four-week period, ensuring the process is carried out in accordance with the law.
The selection process for these candidates had been under scrutiny due to 36 appeals filed before the division bench. These appeals arose from orders issued by a single judge in various writ petitions challenging the SLST 2016, which was conducted to recruit assistant teachers (excluding physical and work education) in government-aided and sponsored schools, with the exception of schools in hill regions.
The SLST 2016 was carried out under the West Bengal School Service Commission (Selection for Appointment to the Posts of Teachers for Upper Primary Level of Schools) Rules, 2016. The interview list for this test was published on August 24, 2019, followed by the merit list on October 4, 2019.
The entire selection process faced multiple challenges through writ petitions brought before a single bench, which ultimately annulled the entire process. The single bench had directed the SSC to conduct a new selection process for all candidates deemed eligible under the rules.
Additionally, the SSC was instructed to verify the validity of Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) certificates, academic qualifications, and professional qualifications according to the established rules.
In June 2021, following these directions, the SSC published a new interview list that revealed a total of 14,339 final vacancies, excluding the 10 percent reserved for para-teachers.
Dissatisfied with the orders from the single bench and similar rulings in other writ petitions, the current appeals were brought before the division bench, leading to the recent directive by the Calcutta High Court.
Click Here to Read Previous Reports on Appointment of Assistant Teachers
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