1st phase of Upper Primary counselling ends, 6,680 candidates get jobs

MP, 27 Nov 2024, Kolkata: The first phase of counselling for the recruitment of assistant teachers at the Upper Primary level in state-aided and sponsored schools concluded on Wednesday. 

A total of 6,680 candidates received recommendation letters after participating in the counselling process, according to Siddhartha Majumder, Chairman of the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC). Majumder noted that 8,749 merit-listed candidates were called for the first phase of counselling, which began on October 3. 

Among them, 2,069 candidates were either absent or declined to accept the recommendation letters, translating to nearly 23.64 per cent who did not take the job. 

Sushanta Ghosh, president of the Paschim Banga Upper Primary Chakriparthi Mancha, stated: “Given the high absentee rate, the second phase of counselling must be completed immediately, so candidates can be placed in schools by the end of this year.” 

The WBSSC has also indicated plans to begin the second phase of counselling as soon as possible. Meanwhile, some candidates who received recommendation letters have reported issues related to category mismatches with the school’s roster points. 

Chandan Garai, Secretary of the All Bengal Post Graduate Teachers Welfare Association, explained that certain candidates were recommended for schools with no corresponding vacancies in their category. 

For instance, in one case, a school with only one vacancy for the ST category had two candidates — one from the ST category and one from the general category — recommended for the same position in English, leading to issues for the general category candidate. 

WBSSC Chairman Siddhartha Majumder acknowledged the issue, stating that the commission had already received over 50 complaints from candidates facing challenges in joining schools. “Some of these issues are minor, like spelling errors in addresses and we have already started addressing those. For more complex matters such as roster point mismatches or unavailability of vacancies, we are exploring alternative solutions,” Majumder said. https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/trinamool-to-support-centre-in-international-issues-says-abhishek-588514?infinitescroll=1