2016 interview process for primary teachers badly flawed

All norms were flouted, it emerged when High Court judge quizzed board members 

AGENCIES, SNS, KOLKATA, 26 FEBRUARY 2023: Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of Calcutta High Court last week personally interrogated 30 interviewers who were in the interview board for primary teachers' recruitment in 2016 and during the course of interrogation those questioned revealed how the process was conducted flouting all prescribed norms. 

Sources aware of the proceedings of the interrogation said that the first flouting of the norms was in process of selection of the interview board where instead of issuing a formal letter on this count, the interviewers were just intimated verbally or through a message about the selection as a member of the interview board. 

During the course of the interrogation, sources said, some interviewers were not also provided with a proper identity card on this count and after the interview process was over, they were just handed over "on-duty" slips. 

The third anomaly is that the interviewers were not given any writer instruction or guideline or demonstration on how to conduct the interview despite some members of the board being first-time interviewers. 

They were just given some verbal instructions which prompted them to use their own common-senses to conduct the interview process. 

The fourth and most irregularity was that there were no instructions given for conducting aptitude tests separately during the course of the interview, although this portion carries separate marks. 

The interviewers questioned by Justice Gangopadhyay have confirmed that since no instruction was given on conducting aptitude tests, the exercise was not conducted at all during the interview process. 

Aptitude test is a sort of practical test for understanding the aptitude of the candidates in teaching using items like blackboard, dusters and blackboard pencils. 

Many of the interviewers questioned by Justice Gangopadhyay informed that in the interview room there were no provisions for these teaching items which are absolutely essential for conducting such aptitude tests. 

There comes the question that when the exercise of aptitude was not conducted at all how the marks for the same could be allotted. 

Subsequent hearings on the teachers' scam is scheduled in the coming weeks at the Calcutta High Court where this issue is expected to make the argument process in the matter interesting.