High Court cancels 1,600 extra posts at upper primary level of govt-aided schools
Telegraph | 5 December 2025
The high court on Thursday struck down a school education department decision to create 1,600 supernumerary posts for work education and physical education at the upper primary level (Classes VI to VIII) of government-aided schools.
Justice Biswajit Basu said such additional posts could not be created as recruitment rules did not have any such provision.
On May 22, 2019, the state cabinet approved the decision to create over 6,000 supernumerary posts for teaching and non-teaching staff for Classes IX to XII, and for work education and physical education teachers at the upper primary level.
As the posts had been created after the tenure of the recruitment panel expired in 2019, cases were filed in 2022 challenging the creation of the supernumerary posts.
The supernumerary appointments for the posts of teachers and Group C and D staff did not materialise as the Supreme Court terminated the entire 2016 recruitment panel for teaching and non-teaching posts because of a “vitiated” recruitment process by the SSC.
On April 25, Justice Biswajit Basu asked the school education department to file an affidavit stating what prompted the state cabinet to create supernumerary posts for physical education and work education teachers.
After going through the affidavit and hearing all the sides, Justice Basu on Thursday said the supernumerary posts could not be created after the expiry of the panel in 2019.
Justice Basu’s April order came after the SSC recommended the appointments of 1,240 candidates as physical education and work education teachers in supernumerary posts in schools.
An education official department denied any illegality in the state government’s decision to create the supernumerary posts for physical education and work education teachers.
“Many waitlisted candidates said they wouldn’t get a chance to be recruited as their age limit would expire by the time the next recruitment phase arrived. Hence, the government created extra posts so they could be absorbed,” he said.
These candidates took the written test in 2017. The age limit for general category candidates for these posts is 37 years.