In a big relief to thousands of teachers in West Bengal, the Supreme Court on Thursday said teachers whose appointments were cancelled earlier this month due to irregularities in recruitment can continue to teach till the fresh selection process is completed.
This relief, the apex court stressed, however, is only for 'untainted' teachers -- those whose names were not linked to any irregularity during the investigation into the 2016 appointments. The court also directed the West Bengal government to start a fresh recruitment drive by May 31 and complete the process by December 31.
On April 3, the Supreme Court had invalidated the appointments of 26,000 teaching and non-teaching staff in state-sponsored and aided schools after finding large-scale irregularities in the 2016 recruitment by the School Service Commission.
The West Bengal SSC scam, commonly referred to as the school jobs-for-cash scandal, allegedly involves widespread irregularities in the recruitment of teachers and non-teaching staff by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) in 2016.
The scam, involving irregularities in the 2016 teacher recruitment, led to the cancellation of 25,753 appointments by the Calcutta High Court, a ruling upheld by the Supreme Court. Investigations revealed manipulated OMR sheets and appointments based on bribes, ensnaring political figures.
Investigations later uncovered a series of manipulations in the recruitment process, including tampered OMR sheets, fake merit lists, and appointments based on blank answer scripts. Many of those who got jobs allegedly paid bribes to secure their positions, bypassing merit entirely.
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