Kolkata Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addressed the ongoing teacher recruitment crisis during the Shiksha Ratna programme held at the Dhono Dhanyo auditorium on September 5, 2025. On this occasion, she acknowledged the vital contributions of educators while vowing to resolve the recruitment issues that have created a storm of controversy.
Banerjee’s comments regarding ‘tainted’ teachers-those deemed ineligible due to legal challenges-sparked backlash from representatives of ‘untainted’ educators. She mentioned that while some individuals might not be able to serve as teachers due to a court order, the government is exploring alternative roles within the Group C and D categories for them. “After working for so many years, many of them have been termed ‘tainted and ineligible’. I am looking into this matter through legal means,” Banerjee stated, emphasizing the administration’s humanitarian approach.
However, her remarks have not sat well with groups advocating for ‘untainted’ teachers, who argue that their integrity has been overlooked in the current fiasco. Mehboob Mondal, leader of the Jogyo Shikkhok Shikkhika Adhikar Mancha (JSSAM), expressed grave concerns about the treatment of educators who have not engaged in corruption: “The ‘untainted’ teachers and non-teaching staff who did not participate in any corruption have been sacrificed in this whole scam. Many of us may struggle to pass the new exams again,” he lamented, referring to the challenges faced by educators amid the recruitment reshuffle.
In the face of growing unrest, a group of ‘untainted’ teachers protested outside the Legislative Assembly, seeking justice for their plight. Opposition Leader and BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari expressed solidarity with the protesters, noting the unfairness of pitting those who had taken the exams in 2016 against new candidates recruited in 2025. Adhikari has called on the Chief Secretary, Manoj Pant, to reinstate ‘untainted’ teachers following the West Bengal School Service Commission’s (WBSSC) contentious decision to publish a list of ‘tainted’ candidates.
The Supreme Court has put a decisive halt to the pleas of numerous ‘tainted’ candidates who sought to participate in the WBSSC’s fresh recruitment cycle. This ruling followed earlier judgments from the Calcutta High Court, which had already stated that the integrity of the recruitment process was compromised. On August 30 and 31, the WBSSC released the names of 1,806 ‘tainted’ candidates, reinforcing the court’s directive that barred their participation in upcoming examinations. A total of about 1,400 candidates who had applied before the November court ruling found their admissions revoked.
The Supreme Court’s intervention follows its April 3, 2025, decision to annul approximately 26,000 teaching and non-teaching appointments in West Bengal due to widespread fraud and irregularities in the 2016 recruitment process. The government and the commission faced scrutiny for their failure to segregate ‘tainted’ from ‘untainted’ candidates, prompting a new examination schedule set for September 7 and 14.
As tensions escalate, the fate of both ‘tainted’ and ‘untainted’ educators hangs in the balance, while the state wrestles with the repercussions of a recruitment crisis that continues to make headlines.
West Bengal
Original Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/west-bengal/mamata-banerjee-mulls-alternative-roles-for-tainted-teachers/article70012540.ece
Category : West Bengal
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Publish Date: 2025-09-05 11:10:00
