West Bengal: School job aspirants hold protest, demand fairness in fresh recruitment process

KOLKATA: A section of school job aspirants, who appeared for recent exams conducted by WBSSC, staged a demonstration in Salt Lake on the eastern fringes of Kolkata on Thursday, demanding fair recruitment in government-aided schools.

They gathered at Karunamoyee Metro station and took out a one-km march to Bikash Bhavan, the state education department headquarters. The agitators, who appeared for the State Level Selection Test (SLST) conducted by the West Bengal School Service Commission on September 7 and 14, were demanding the abolition of the provision of awarding 10 extra marks to untainted teachers who lost their jobs following a Supreme Court order and have participated in the fresh exams.

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The Supreme Court ordered the sacking of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff at state-aided schools, describing the 2016 recruitment process as “vitiated and tainted”. The protesters claimed the 10-grace-marks provision would deprive new candidates and violate the norms that ensure a level playing field for all aspirants.

They also demanded the immediate release of vacancies in the schools. Meanwhile, non-teaching staffers, who lost their jobs in the recruitment controversy, said they have been facing difficulties without a salary for the past six months.

The job aspirants said they want to meet the state education minister to highlight their objections to the recruitment notification.