'Untainted' Teachers & Fresh Candidates Seek Vacancy Increase

MP, KOLKATA, NOV 16, 2025, 2025 :  The publication of the preliminary interview list for the recruitment of assistant teachers for classes XI-XII has sparked discontent among both 'untainted' teachers and fresh candidates, each group calling for an increase in vacancies for different reasons. The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) released the list on Saturday night, inviting over 20,000 candidates for document verification from November 18, for approximately 12,445 vacancies.

Many of those excluded are 'untainted' teachers, who lost their jobs following a Supreme Court ruling on April 3 that annulled the appointments of nearly 26,000 teachers and non-teaching staff recruited through the 2016 process. Although these teachers have been allowed to remain in service until December 31, 2025, those who appeared only for the XI-XII examination and were excluded from the list now face the prospect of unemployment once the extension ends.

Chandrani Saha, a computer science teacher from Hooghly and the sole breadwinner of her family, said health complications had limited her preparation, causing her to fall short by just four marks. Sweta Chakraborty, a philosophy teacher who had appeared only for the XI-XII examination, also missed the cut-off by four marks. She said her delay in joining had cost her two experience marks due to an administrative error. Chinmoy Mondal, who had appeared for both the XI-XII and IX-X examinations, missed the XI-XII list by three marks. While he hopes to be called for the IX-X interview, he questioned the future of those with no second chance.

Another 'untainted' teacher, Satyabrata Jana, described the cut-off as unusually high and argued that the number of vacancies should be increased given that many schools are already operating with staff shortages.

On the other hand, fresh candidates are voicing their frustration, claiming they were excluded despite scoring high marks in the written examination. Their main grievance is that they could not claim the ten marks reserved for prior teaching experience. These candidates are planning a march from Karunamoyee to Bikash Bhavan on Monday. Shishir Das, one such candidate, said he scored 57 out of 60 but failed to make the list, claiming that several others with 59 or even 60 marks were also excluded. Their demands include scrapping the experience-mark component, publishing all OMR sheets, and increasing the number of vacancies.

However, 'untainted' teachers dispute the claim that freshers have been broadly excluded. They point out that of the 20,000 candidates called for verification, 9,488 — approximately 47.5 percent — are freshers, suggesting that nearly half of those shortlisted have no prior teaching experience.