Upper Primary candidate’s official joining brings hope

Kolkata: After a decade-long wait, Rakhi Chatterjee, first among the Upper Primary candidates, has officially joined her chosen school as an assistant teacher, bringing hope and joy to other candidates just before the Durga Puja festival. State Education minister Bratya Basu stated: “A very happy news before Puja.”

Chatterjee, a resident of New Barrackpore, joined Belurmath Lalbaba Vidyalaya as a Pure Science teacher (Hindi Medium). On Monday, she visited the school with her husband. “The headmaster was very welcoming and happy. After leaving the school, we got a call from him and he informed me that my recommendation letter from the WBSSC had arrived and asked me to come on Tuesday and join,” said Chatterjee. She had participated in the counselling process on October 3.

The recruitment process for assistant teachers at the Upper Primary Level in state-run schools began in 2015, when Rakhi was 35-years-old. Now, at 45, she has finally received her appointment.

“Nearly 10 years have passed. I always believed I would get the appointment, but the main question was when? Finally, I got the appointment letter. I am very excited and happy,” she shared. Previously, she worked as a teacher in a private school in Madhyamgram.

Chatterjee’s joining has brought renewed hope to other candidates who have been waiting for their appointments for nearly 10 years. “We are very happy that at least one among us has finally joined school. Our decade-long wait has ended, and this means that even if not now, in the near future, we will also get appointments,” said Atanu Ghosh, a merit-listed candidate of Upper Primary.