Kolkata (West Bengal): The Calcutta High Court Friday passed an interim stay on an earlier order terminating jobs of around 32,000 teachers in West Bengal government-sponsored and -aided primary schools till the end of September or until further orders.
A single bench had on May 12 ordered the cancellation of appointment of around 32,000 candidates who had not completed teacher training when they were recruited as primary teachers through a selection process in 2016 on the basis of Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) of 2014.
"There shall be an interim stay on termination of jobs till the end of September, 2023, or until further orders, whichever is earlier," a division bench presided by Justice Subrata Talukdar directed.
The termination of jobs without giving a chance of meaningful right of defence to the affected parties prima facie requires judicial intervention, the bench, also comprising Justice Supratim Bhattacharya said, while passing its interim order on an appeal by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education and some affected teachers. Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay had earlier ordered the cancellation of appointment.
The Calcutta High Court on Friday ordered cancellation of jobs of a large number of non-trained primary teachers, which may amount to above 30,000, in West Bengal government-sponsored and -aided schools, holding that due procedure was not followed in the recruitment process.
The court, however, directed that these teachers can continue to work for the next four months, but will receive the salary of para teachers. Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay directed that these primary teachers will not be able to work as regular teachers as the due procedure was not followed in the appointments.
Petitioners, who were job aspirants, had moved the high court claiming irregularities in the recruitment process for around 42,500 primary teachers. The court found that improper methods were adopted to recruit a large number of them, who are also untrained, in the said process for primary teachers in 2016 on the basis of the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) of 2014.
The court also directed that fresh recruitment from the 2014 TET candidates has to start within three months. The petitioners' lawyer Tarunjyoti Tiwari had claimed that due reservations for trained and untrained candidates were not followed in the appointment process.
West Bengal Board of Primary Education president Goutam Paul, claiming that there were no irregularities in the recruitment process, said they will take legal steps after receiving a copy of the order. Justice Gangopadhyay has earlier ordered CBI investigations into a number of cases of alleged irregularities in the recruitment of teachers in state-sponsored and aided schools. (PTI)
