Cash-for-job case: WBSSC notice for fresh recruitments on May 30; all aspirants must appear for test, says CM

Kolkata, May 27 (IANS) Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced that the West Bengal School Service Commission’s (WBSSC) notification for fresh recruitments to vacant posts for teaching and non-teaching jobs will be issued on May 30. She stated that even the ‘untainted’ teachers who had lost their jobs following a Supreme Court order in the cash-for-job case, will have to appear for the written examination for recruitments.

On April 3, a Supreme Court Bench while upholding a previous order of the Calcutta High Court, which annulled 25,753 school appointments made through the WBSSC, also directed the state government to start a fresh recruitment process by issuing notifications or advertisements for the same by May 31.

Since the teachers who had got their jobs without paying any money had been insisting that they would not appear for a fresh written examination, the Chief Minister, on Tuesday, clarified that after the Supreme Court’s order, there was no other option before them but to appear for the test.

“We filed a review petition at the Supreme Court since we did not want anyone to lose their jobs. The process for the review petition is yet to be completed. In addition, there will be a summer vacation at the court soon. So, our hands are tied.

“We will have to issue the notification as per the apex court’s order. At the same time, we will be pursuing the review petition. The two processes will go on simultaneously.

“If we get a positive response in the review petition, we will act accordingly,” the Chief Minister said at a press conference on Tuesday.

She also clarified that besides the vacancies arising out of cancellation of jobs following the Supreme Court order last month, additional vacancies for the posts of teaching and non-teaching staff will also be filled up in the fresh recruitment process.

“A total of 44,203 vacant posts in both the categories will be filled up through the fresh recruitment process,” Chief Minister Banerjee said.

Announcing that the notification will be issued on May 30, Chief Minister Banerjee said the applicants would be able to make online applications from June 16 to July 14.

“The panel will be announced on November 15, and the counselling process will start on November 20. The entire process will be completed by December 31, as per the order of the Supreme Court,” Chief Minister Banerjee said and added that her government could not be held responsible for the job losses after the Supreme Court’s order.

“Some vested interests and selfish persons orchestrated that. Now they are trying to pose as friends of the job losers. We will have to wait for the results of the review petition. But everyone will have to sit for the examination to get jobs. This is the clear order from the Supreme Court,” Chief Minister Banerjee said.

However, she did not utter a single word on the demand of the honest teachers for immediate publication of lists segregating the ‘untainted’ candidates from the ‘tainted’ ones, who got jobs after paying money.

In fact, on April 3, while upholding the earlier order by the Calcutta High Court that annulled 25,753 school appointments made through the WBSSC, the Supreme Court also accepted the observation of the High Court that the entire panel had to be scrapped due to the authorities' failure to distinguish between ‘tainted’ and ‘untainted’ candidates.

--IANS

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