West Bengal Teachers’ protest: In a major development amid ongoing protests over teacher eligibility and recruitment, the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) has issued a notification for the recruitment of 35,726 teachers in state-aided secondary and higher secondary schools. The move comes in compliance with the Supreme Court’s directive to release the advertisement by May 31.

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Recruitment breakdown and eligibility

According to the official notice published late Thursday on the WBSSC website, the recruitment drive will fill 23,312 teaching posts for classes 9–10 and 12,514 for classes 11–12.

A key clause in the notification sets the age eligibility between 21 and 40 years. However, the upper age limit is relaxable by 5 years for SC/ST candidates, 3 years for OBC candidates, and 8 years for physically handicapped applicants. Candidates will also be provided with carbon copies of OMR sheets, which will be preserved for three years to ensure transparency.

Application window opens briefly

The online application process is set to begin from 5 PM on June 16 and will close just 24 hours later at 5 PM on June 17. The unusually short window has raised concerns among some applicants, especially in the backdrop of ongoing protests by previously appointed teachers demanding permanent reinstatement without retaking exams.

SC order and mass terminations

The recruitment notice follows a landmark verdict by the Supreme Court on April 3, which upheld the Calcutta High Court’s April 22, 2024 judgment invalidating thousands of teacher appointments, calling the entire selection process “vitiated and tainted.”

In a partial relief, on April 17, the apex court allowed the continued employment of teachers who were cleared by the CBI of wrongdoing, but only until December 31, 2024. The court directed the state government to begin a fresh recruitment cycle, setting clear deadlines for issuing advertisements and conducting examinations.

Protests

While the notification marks compliance with the Supreme Court’s mandate, it does little to pacify aggrieved protestors who were caught in the recruitment scandal and are now being asked to retake the exams. The state government and WBSSC have been directed to submit a compliance affidavit on or before May 31 confirming the initiation of the process.

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With thousands of teaching vacancies and a tainted recruitment history, all eyes will now be on how WBSSC conducts this high-stakes hiring exercise.

(With PTI inputs)