SSC teacher recruitment exam, first since SC scrapping 26,000 jobs, underway in Bengal

Kolkata, Sep 7 (PTI) West Bengal SSC's School Level Selection Test (SLST), the first teacher recruitment exam since the Supreme Court scrapped over 26,000 jobs in government-run schools in April, was underway at 636 centres across the eastern state amid tight security on Sunday.

The exam began at noon, before which the candidates underwent thorough checking at the gates of the centres.

Around 3.19 lakh aspirants are scheduled to take the exam for recruitment to assistant teacher posts for classes 9 and 10. Several candidates from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were also taking the exam.

A three-tier security system was in place at examination centres, including naka checking 100 metres from the venue, and multiple checks at the gates and on the premises.

Considering the security measures, every candidate was asked to turn up at the centres from 10 am onwards, two hours before the start of the exam.

Barcode scanners were used to check admit cards at entrances, and only pens -- also made available at centres -- were permitted inside.

No electronic devices or mobile phones were allowed, and even venue supervisors and SSC officials were barred from carrying mobile phones into exam halls.

The WBSSC has embedded certain unique identification security features on each question paper to monitor candidates resorting to unfair means.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh attacked the BJP, stating that candidates from states with "double-engine governments", such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, travelled to West Bengal to take the exam, as recruitment processes in their home states were either stalled or unreliable.

Taking to X, Ghosh wrote in Bengali that job-seekers from "Yogi Rajya" and other states were taking the West Bengal's SSC exams as they faced repeated postponements and lack of opportunities in their own states.

He further stressed that West Bengal has never barred non-residents from writing state recruitment tests.

"No one has said Bengal's exams are only for Bengalis. No one harassed or insulted them. No one stopped them," he said.

CPI(M) leader Shatarup Ghosh remarked that the TMC government would now get a chance to get "cut money" from candidates of other states as well.

The exam is being conducted after around 26,000 school teachers and non-teaching staffers lost their jobs as per the direction of the Supreme Court, which stated that their recruitment process held in 2016 was "tainted and vitiated".

Another 2.46 lakh candidates will sit for the recruitment test of assistant teachers of classes 11 and 12 at 478 centres on September 14, the next Sunday, WBSSC chairman Siddhartha Majumdar said.

The apex court had directed the WBSSC to ensure that teachers who were identified as having got their jobs through unscrupulous means are not allowed to appear in this recruitment process.

Subsequently, the names of 1,806 such 'tainted' teachers were announced by the WBSSC.

In a message to the candidates, state Education Minister Bratya Basu said, "The entire administration is always with you to ensure security, transparency and all possible facilities at 636 venues so that you deliver your best. Reach your centre on time. Best wishes to all." A teacher from the 2016 panel said that "forcing genuine candidates to sit for exams was the ultimate shame".

Kolkata Metro Railways ran services in the Blue line (Dakshineshwar-Sahid Khudiram) and Green Line (Howrah Maidan-Salt Lake Sector V) from 9 am to facilitate the journey of candidates to the exam centres. PTI BSM SUS ACD ACD