West Bengal board says TET eligible candidates may reappear for exam; urges to end stir

NEW DELHI: Amid protests seeking jobs by candidates, who claimed to have cleared Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) in the past, West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) president Goutam Paul on Tuesday said the eligible ones may reappear for the exam, to be held later this year.

Paul also said that the provision of relaxing the age bar for candidates, who had cleared the written exam in the past eight to 10 years but failed to bag an appointment letter, might be also be taken up for consideration by the government. Around 500 candidates, claiming to have passed TET in 2014, are staging a sit-in outside the primary board office, asserting that they would not want to appear for a fresh examination.

Paul requested the agitators to withdraw their sit-in, stating that the board is sympathetic to their plight, but cannot recruit anyone who did not find a place in the final list or panel or if the panel has expired. "We would be adopting a fair and transparent policy. Those having qualified the TET in the past 10 years or so are eligible to participate in the future recruitment process. "If the government relaxes the age limit for candidates who had qualified the written test earlier, then those having crossed 40 years may get to sit for the exam again," he said at a press meet.

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The board president, however, clarified that any final decision in the matter will be taken by the state government. To a question about the sit-in, he said, "The board will request everyone not to do anything to disrupt a fair TET recruitment process or go against the interest of other teaching job aspirants." "Nothing should be done in political interest," Paul added. Notably, former board chairman Manik Bhattacharya, also a ruling Trinamool Congress MLA, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on October 11 in connection with the alleged irregularities in the recruitment process of primary teachers in the state.

Bhattacharya was removed from the post of chairman on an order of the Calcutta High Court, before which a number of petitions have been moved alleging graft in the appointment process of teachers in state-sponsored and -aided schools.