WBBPE: Didn’t prepare add’l 5% recruitment panel

Kolkata: The West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) on Tuesday admitted in the Calcutta High Court that the additional panel of five per cent for recruitment of primary teachers during the 2016 recruitment process was not prepared to fill up vacancies and instead the remaining seats were transferred to the next recruitment process.

The petitioners, through an RTI, had learnt that in all seven districts (Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, Howrah, Burdwan, Bankura) the notified vacancy was of total 12636 posts but the WBBPE gave appointment to 11006 candidates and the remaining 1630 posts are lying vacant till date in respect of recruitment process of 2016 for primary teacher post. In terms of Recruitment Rules of 2016 of Primary Teachers, an additional panel of five per cent for candidates (SC, ST, OBC Category A & B, exempted category, ex-serviceman and physically handicapped) was supposed to be prepared but the Board did not publish the additional panel.

The Board’s counsel on Tuesday told the bench of Justice Amrita Sinha that the additional panel was not prepared and the vacancy of seats were instead transferred to the next recruitment process. With Justice Sinha pointing out that the vacancies could not have been transferred to the next recruitment process and that the panel had to be published according to the law, the Board’s counsel said that it was not mandatory to publish the additional panel keeping in view that 2016 recruitment process was an exception since the Board had to recruit many untrained teachers due to a dearth of trained teachers.

Justice Sinha asked the Board’s counsel to file an affidavit on the matter. In her order, she observed: “Counsel representing the Board submits that the additional panel of five per cent as mentioned in Rule 8 (6) of West Bengal Primary Teachers Recruitment Rules, 2016 was not prepared and accordingly there is no question of publication of the same...”

Justice Sinha directed: “Let affidavit in opposition along with relevant documents be prepared and served upon the advocate

representing the petitioners

by August 20...”