New Delhi: The Supreme Court, on Thursday, modified its own order regarding the SSC recruitment scam in West Bengal and allowed ‘untainted’ assistant teachers of Classes IX-XII to continue to teach till fresh recruitment takes place.
The Court also directed the West Bengal government to initiate a fresh recruitment process by May 31 and complete it by December 31. The teachers who have been allowed to continue to teach, will not get any special preference in the fresh recruitment process, the Court has clarified.
On April 3, the Supreme Court had upheld a Calcutta High Court order, terminating the jobs of over 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff (Groups C and D), recruited by the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) in 2016. The Court had held that the whole process suffered from systematic corruption.
On Thursday, the Court heard an application that stated that students – many of them preparing for their Board exams – would suffer if the jobs are terminated at this time. The bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar then allowed the assistant teachers not linked to the scam to continue teaching. However, no non-teaching staff recruited by the SSC in 2016 will continue in service, the Court ordered.
The decision has been taken, keeping in mind the interest of the students, the Court clarified.
This will be a short-lived respite for the ‘untainted’ or ‘deserving’ teachers, who have been agitating against the West Bengal government and the SSC ever since the SC struck down their appointments, unless they qualify in the fresh recruitment process.
This process will certainly be closely monitored by all concerned, including the courts.
