After close to nine years, the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) held its recruitment examination for assistant teachers for classes 11 and 12 on Sunday amid tight security. WBSSC Chairman Siddartha Majumdar said earlier that 2.46 lakh candidates were expected to take the exam held at 478 centres.
The Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court had cancelled the appointments of nearly 26,000 teachers and non-teaching staff recruited through a 2016 selection process, citing widespread malpractices.
At 10 am, the gates of all the examination centres opened for the candidates to enter. The WBSSC has taken stringent security measures for the examinations. Question papers and answer sheets have barcodes and other security features to prevent cheating.
If a question paper is photographed to leak its contents, the security features will help identify the candidates involved, and the examination will be cancelled within two hours, officials said. There are separate security features on the question paper and OMR sheet of each candidate, they added.
At Bidhannagar College in Salt Lake in North 24 Parganas district, several candidates were seen waiting in front of the examination centre from early morning. Tight security was seen not only in Bidhannagar College but in all the other colleges, such as Jaipuria College and Manindranath College. Security guards with metal detectors were seen frisking candidates and checking all the documents before allowing entry. Colourful bottles, handkerchiefs, and bags were not allowed inside the centres.
Outside all the colleges, there were boards with information such as the candidates’ roll numbers and assigned classrooms. A list of what can be taken inside—a transparent file to keep the admit card, Aadhaar card, or voter ID; and a transparent pen and water bottle—was also pasted on the boards. Also on display outside examination centres was a list of the 1,806 candidates whose admit cards had been cancelled.
Police were deployed outside the examination centres to prevent any untoward incidents. The WBSSC had announced helpline numbers 03323214550 , 9051176400, and 905116500.
Education Minister Bratya Basu said on Saturday, “All instructions have been given to the SSC. We urge all to take the exams peacefully.”
Candidates hopeful
Anindita Haldar, a candidate, said, “I was a student when I took the SSC exam and qualified. I ranked 76th. I don’t know what rank I will get now. What happened was shameful, and we are paying the price.”
Rohan Gayen, who appeared for the exam for the first time, told The Indian Express, “We have to be positive. Do we have any other option?”
Piyali Mondol, another candidate, said, “We would like more such exams to be held. They are insisting on transparent pens, files, and water bottles. Hopefully, they will ensure transparency in the exam as well.”
Court directives
On May 30, the WBSSC issued a notification for the recruitment of 35,726 teachers of classes 9-10 and 11-12 at state-aided schools, abiding by the Supreme Court directive.
The exam dates—September 7 for classes 9-10 and September 14 for classes 11-12—were announced in July.
Following a Supreme Court order, the WBSSC on August 30 released the names and roll numbers of the 1,806 candidates who had been found to have engaged in malpractices in the previous exam.
In April, the Supreme Court terminated 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff at government-aided schools. Later, after the education board appealed against the decision, the top court allowed the “untainted” recruits to receive salaries till December. The remaining 1,804 teachers have been barred from returning to schools.
The Calcutta High Court dismissed an appeal filed by the WBSSC and the Government to allow the tainted teachers to participate in the fresh recruitment process.