No voting rights but 16-yr-old is a primary teacher

KANCHAN SIDDIOUI, SNS, BURDWAN. 17 JUNE 2022: Not allowed to exercise their franchise just because of their tender age, but that's no issue at all to assume the charge as a primary school teacher in East Burdwan, that's what has now been revealed while scrutinizing the consecutive fictitious appointments under the district primary school council here.

Sajal Haldar (Appointment Memo: 2181 /APPTT) was 16.9 years old on  1 January, 2014, the year he'd appeared in the Teacher's Eligibility Test and had failed. No matter, he's still issued an appointment letter by the Council on 11 February, 2017.

Sheikh Faruk Ahmed (Memo: 2335/APPTT) was 16.7-year-old on I January, 2014, the year of his TET exam that he failed to qualify. Still he's issued an appointment on 11 Febniaty,2017.Susmita Saha (Memo: 2033/APPTT) had received appointment on 10 February,2017 and the year shed appeared and failed in TET, she was just 16.11 years old. As many as 38 such fictitious teachers those had failed in TET between 2012 and 2014 have been identified with the second list of 'fraud' teachers forwarded to the council by the Primary Education Board of the state.

Besides, the Burdwan Primary School Council had issued appointment to one Sukumar Sarkar (Memo: 2197/APPIT), who had failed in20 HIRT and was 46.7-year old at the time of appearing in TET, surprisingly.

Besides, sister doe of Mithu Roy and Papiya Roy of Kalna and Papiya's husband Sudip Palit were accommodated as primary teachers though they were far away from the required qualifying marks in the Teacher's Eligibility Test in 2014.

Mithu's husband Jyotirmoy Banerjee, secretary of a Primary Teachers Training Institute allegedly was at the centre of the 'job distribution racket' and played as a catalyst in the scam, the officials suspect.

Services of 17 primary teachers in East Burdwan have been terminated in compliance with the order passed the Calcutta High Court on last 13 June. Dr RC Bagchi, secretary of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education, in a communication to Madhusudan Bhattacharya, chairman, District Primary School Council has asked to withdraw the appointment letters of the 17 'guilty' teachers. Bhattacharya said, "After we've received the instruction, we've begun the process of withdrawal of t he classified teachers from their services, accordingly" The Council has forwarded the instruction to the District Inspector of Schools too, the officials said.

The TET 2014 trained list accommodated names of 17 such persons from undivided Burdwan district in the unreserved category who didn't qualify, the required pass marks, the CHC observed. In the state, 272 such persons have been identified. A candidate, who could secure at least 60 per cent of the full marks (150) was considered as a TET 2014 successful.

Papiya and Mithu had scored 29.561 and 31.610and Papiya's husband Sudip had scored 29.839, still they managed to buy berths as teachers. How? The officials with the DPSC here hinted about a possible route - Mithu's husband Jyotirmoy Banerjee runs a primary teachers training college in Kalna. He is the secretary of the college. He, according to the officials, had a 'remarkably positive' relation with Manik Bhattacharya chairman of West Bengal Board of Primary Education, which might have come to help.

In Bankura, 11 such TET unqualified persons serving as primary teachers have been detected and the Bankura Primary School Council has already received an official communication from the state headquarters about their termination, the officials said.