Education dept puts teacher recruitment 'on hold' in Daribhit High School till Oct 5

Kolkata: In the wake of the incident at Daribhit High School in Islampur in North Dinajpur district, the state Education department has decided to stall recruitment process of teachers till October 5.

"The minister has directed all the DIs to submit a report to the department by October 5, stating the student and teacher strength, the infrastructure of the schools under their respective jurisdiction and other details. Till then, there will be no recruitment of teachers. We will examine the vacancies at the schools on the basis of the report and then the recruitment process will start," a senior official of the Education department said.

In Islampur, two students were killed in a clash that broke out over the recruitment of Urdu teachers on Friday.

It may be mentioned that the School Service Commission has already completed the counselling for 6,000 teachers on September 19. The Education department, in collaboration with the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, was in the process of handing over the appointment letters, amidst which the Daribhit incident occurred.

"We are hopeful that the process of handing over appointment letters will be completed before the pujas," a senior official in the department said.

It may be mentioned that state Education minister Partha Chatterjee, in his meeting with the District Inspectors (DI) on Monday, had expressed his displeasure over the decision of shuffling teachers at Daribhit High School in Islampur and reprimanded some DIs for their aggressive role in the recruitment or shuffling of teachers.

According to sources, Daribhit High School had no vacancy. Among its 22 sanctioned posts, five are para-teachers. "The act is heinous and nobody involved in the incident will be spared," Chatterjee had said after the meeting.