Over 22% Upper Primary candidates skip counselling

Kolkata: The trend of significant absenteeism continues in the Upper Primary Teacher Recruitment counselling. As of October 29, six days of counselling have been held, with 658 candidates called. However, 149 candidates have either not attended the counselling process or refused the recommendation, translating to nearly 22.65 percent of candidates not taking the recommendation letter.

Following the Calcutta High Court’s order in August, the recruitment process of Assistant Teachers at the Upper Primary level began with the publication of the final merit list.

Subsequently, the counselling process started and on the very first day of counselling on October 3, out of 144 candidates called for counselling, 41 were absent. On the second day, October 4, 110 candidates were called for counselling, with only 84 candidates present. After the Durga Puja holidays, the counselling process resumed on October 24 with a similar trend of absenteeism.

According to the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC), a total of 658 candidates were called for the first part of the first phase counselling, with 509 selecting their preferred vacancies and being issued recommendation letters for appointment. The remaining candidates were mostly absent, with a few declining the offer. The reasons for the high absentee rate are unclear, but there are some presumptions.

WBSSC officials suggest that since this recruitment process started nearly a decade ago, some absent candidates may have already secured other jobs and do not wish to leave them. Some candidates echoed this explanation.

The second part of the first phase of counselling will be held from November 11 to 27. Approximately 8,091 candidates for Bengali medium will be called for this round of counselling.