2022 primary teachers recruitment about to be completed; 25 more to go

Kolkata: Following the fourth phase of counselling on September 13, which will involve 25 candidates, the Primary Teachers Recruitment process that commenced in 2022 is set to conclude.

However, this excludes the portion currently under review by the Supreme Court and the waitlisted candidates.

“This might be the first time in recent memory that a recruitment process will be completed. We are organising counselling for the last remaining 25 candidates on the state-level merit list,” said Goutam Pal, President of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE).

The initial notification for recruiting over 11,000 (11,765) Assistant Teachers in primary schools across the state was published on September 29, 2022. Although the process started smoothly, it was temporarily halted due to legal issues. The Supreme Court issued a stay on the recruitment process for some time.

The Supreme Court later resolved these complications by ordering the publication of the merit list and ordering the appointment of the candidates featured in that list. Following this, on January 31, this year, the WBBPE released the state-wide merit list of 9,533 eligible candidates, including the additional panel of 5 per cent candidates.

All the candidates who had been featured in the merit list have been recommended for appointment in phases by the board. Based on these recommendations, the respective district primary school councils have issued appointment letters. However, these appointments are subject to the final outcome of a writ petition currently being heard by the Supreme Court.

The case is ongoing, and as per the Supreme Court’s directive, the board has already interviewed 2,936 candidates who completed their Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed) in the 2020-2022 session. The President of WBBPE confirmed that the marks of these candidates have been submitted to the Supreme Court.