Kolkata: The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) has added two more names to its list of “tainted” teachers recruited through the 2016 selection process, taking the total to 1,806.
The original list, featuring 1,804 candidates who allegedly benefitted from the “cash-for-jobs” scam, was published on Saturday evening in compliance with a Supreme Court directive on August 28. The latest additions were made after midnight.
Several teachers whose names appear on the list have said they will move court against the WBSSC. One of them, Kamalesh Kapat, said: “On what basis has the Commission done this? Even the Supreme Court has not clearly defined who is eligible and who is not. The Commission has acted on its own, and we will seek judicial clarification,” he said. Meanwhile, in a statement, Jogya Shikshak Shikshika Adhikar Mancha, an association representing “untainted” teachers, said that 15,403 innocent teachers had been rendered jobless despite the CBI, the Bag Committee report, and even the Supreme Court itself acknowledging their legitimacy.
“Even after the Commission published the list of illegally appointed teachers on August 30, no solution has emerged to reinstate innocent teachers,” the group said, urging Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari and other legislators to raise the issue in the Assembly.
“The justice system in India has reached such a point that even after identifying tainted and untainted candidates, both the innocent and the guilty are being punished alike,” said Mehabub Mondal, an untainted teacher.
The second State Level Selection Test (SLST) is being held to fill 35,726 assistant teacher vacancies in state-aided and sponsored schools, including 23,212 posts for Classes IX–X and 12,514 for Classes XI–XII. Candidates for Classes IX–X will sit for the written examination on September 7, while those for Classes XI–XII will appear on September 14.