West Bengal may move Supreme Court again if teacher recruitment misses August 31 deadline

MP, July 31, 2026, Kolkata : The West Bengal government will again approach the Supreme Court if it fails to complete the school teacher recruitment process within the court-mandated deadline of August 31, School Education Minister Dipak Barman said on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference at Bikash Bhavan, Barman said the recruitment process was underway and the government was making every effort to complete it at the earliest.

"If it is found that the process cannot be completed despite the state government's best efforts, we will seek an extension of time from the Supreme Court," he said.

The Supreme Court had allowed eligible teachers of Classes IX-X and XI-XII recruited through the 2016 School Service Commission (SSC) panel to continue in service with salary until August 31, 2026.

The court had cancelled the entire 2016 recruitment panel in April last year, citing institutional irregularities, leading to the termination of 18,418 teachers.

While 1,806 candidates were identified as tainted and barred from attending schools, the remaining eligible teachers were granted temporary relief until fresh recruitment is completed.

The apex court had initially set December 31, 2025, as the deadline for completing the fresh recruitment process but later extended it to August 31, 2026, on the state government's plea.

State-run schools are already facing an acute teacher shortage after nearly a decade without regular recruitment. Thousands of teachers have retired during this period, while the scrapping of the 2016 SSC panel further widened vacancies.

Asked about the recruitment of Group C and Group D staff, Barman said the results would be published soon but did not specify a timeline.

The examinations were held again in March, but the results are yet to be declared.

The minister, however, stressed that the state government's immediate priority is completing the teacher recruitment process.