Over 2 lakh candidates likely to take WBSSC SLST for Classes 11-12 in West Bengal

KOLKATA : Around 2.46 lakh candidates are expected to appear for SSC exams on Sunday for the recruitment of assistant teachers for Classes 11 and 12 in the West Bengal government-aided schools, officials said. The School Level Selection Test (SLST) will be conducted at 478 centres across the state, they said.

On September 7, 3.19 lakh candidates had appeared for the first phase of the tests for the recruitment of assistant teachers for classes 9 and 10 at 636 centres, the officials said. These exams are being conducted by the West Bengal School Service Commission after around 26,000 school teachers and non-teaching staffers lost their jobs as per the direction of the Supreme Court, which stated that their recruitment process held in 2016 was “tainted and vitiated”.

The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) has introduced certain unique identification security features on each question paper to monitor candidates. The apex court had directed the WBSSC to ensure that teachers who cleared the 2016 exams through unscrupulous means are not allowed to appear in the fresh recruitment process. Subsequently, the names of 1,806 such ‘tainted’ teachers were announced by the WBSSC.

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In view of security measures, every candidate has been asked to turn up at the centres from 10 am onwards, two hours before the start of the exam. No electronic devices or mobile phones have been allowed, WBSSC Chairman Siddhartha Majumdar said. Venue supervisors and even SSC officials are also not being allowed inside the exam halls with phones.