Kolkata: The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) has initiated steps to complete the recruitment process for 1,241 candidates still on the waiting list for upper primary assistant teacher posts, following a directive from the Calcutta High Court.
According to sources, the Commission has sought updated vacancy details from the state School Education department to facilitate counselling for the remaining candidates. The department has, in turn, instructed district inspectors of schools to compile and submit the data after the Durga Puja break. The move follows a Calcutta High Court order issued on September 4 by a division bench comprising Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee and Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty, directing the WBSSC and state authorities to adjust vacancies and take immediate steps to call the remaining wait-listed candidates for counselling and recommendation.
The upper primary recruitment process, which began in 2016, has so far undergone eight rounds of counselling. Of the 12,723 candidates who were called for counselling, more than 9,500 have received recommendation letters from the WBSSC. However, after the eighth phase held on August 1, no further candidates were called for counselling owing to a lack of matching vacancies. This prompted aggrieved aspirants to approach the court, alleging contempt of its earlier orders to conduct counselling and recommend all 14,052 candidates who had appeared in the personality test. Commission officials said that once the vacancy data is received from the Education Department, fresh counselling for the remaining 1,241 candidates will commence without delay.