School recruitment row: SC extends tenure of untainted sacked teachers for now

 'Sense of relief', says CM; 'Untainted' teachers dissatisfied with order

PTI, NEW DELHI/KOLKATA, APRIL 17, 2025 : In major relief to West Bengal, the Supreme Court on Thursday extended the services of terminated teachers found untainted by the CBI. A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar took note of the state government's submissions that teaching in various schools has been adversely impacted and fresh recruitment will take time. 

The apex court, however, did not extend the services of grade 'C' and 'D' employees of the state government-run and aided schools. It directed the state government to start the recruitment process on or before May 31 and conclude it by December 31 this year. The court asked the state government and its WBSSC (West Bengal School Service Commission) to file a compliance affidavit intimating it about the initiation of the recruitment process on or before May 31.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court's order extending the services of untainted teachers whose appointments were earlier terminated, stating that there was now a "sense of relief". She urged the educators not to worry, assuring them that the issue would be resolved. "We are happy with the SC order... there is a sense of relief with the court order," Mamata told reporters. "I would request the teachers not to worry, the issue will be resolved," she added.

However, the teachers of state-run and state-aided schools in West Bengal — whose services were temporarily extended by the Supreme Court on Thursday — expressed dissatisfaction over what they termed as a "short-term relief." They asserted that only permanent reinstatement would bring them justice.

Pankaj Roy, one of the nearly 26,000 teaching and non-teaching staff whose appointments through the 2016 SSC recruitment drive were annulled, told newspersons: "With all respect to the Honourable Supreme Court, let's voice our dissatisfaction over the order which has allowed us to attend classes only till December 31. What happens after that? The SC has asked the state to issue a fresh notification. We've already made it clear that we will not sit for fresh exams after clearing the 2016 recruitment test as eligible candidates." Roy, a political science teacher at a secondary school in North Bengal, had observed a three-day hunger strike last week outside the WBSSC office in Acharya Bhavan, demanding the publication of a list distinguishing 'tainted' from 'untainted' candidates from the 2016 recruitment batch.

Dhritish Mondal of Jogyo Sikshak Manch (Eligible Teachers' Platform) echoed the sentiment, saying, "We are not tainted candidates. This is even acknowledged in the SC order. Then why should our services be extended only till December 31? As per service rules, we should serve till we reach the superannuation age of 60. If the WBSSC knows who is tainted and who is not, why can't they tell the SC clearly?" Mondal emphasized that the teachers, who had qualified through the 2016 recruitment process and served diligently, were unwilling to sit for fresh exams.

While 70 members of the Manch launched a sit-in protest in Delhi on April 16, over 100 others have been staging an indefinite demonstration at Esplanade in Kolkata since April 3. Asked whether the teachers would resume classes from Saturday, the protesters said: "We will decide soon. If we do return to school, it will be solely in the interest of the students, who are suffering."

Earlier, on April 3, the apex court had invalidated the appointments of 25,753 teachers and staff in state-run and aided schools, calling the recruitment process "vitiated and tainted," and ordered the recovery of salaries from those deemed to have obtained appointments improperly.