Kolkata, 8 July (H.S.) -

The controversy surrounding the new recruitment process of the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) has once again landed in court. A group of candidates has approached the Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court challenging the latest recruitment notification and a recent order passed by a Single Bench of the court.

Earlier, the Single Bench had directed the SSC to exclude all candidates declared ineligible as per the Supreme Court's orders from the ongoing recruitment process. The bench also instructed the commission to cancel any applications submitted by such candidates and to issue a fresh notification for the recruitment.

However, petitioners now argue that the revised notification unfairly awards an additional 10 marks each for prior teaching experience and lecture demonstration, which could disadvantage several otherwise eligible candidates. They also point out that the new criteria are being applied to a process already deemed illegal, raising concerns about its fairness and transparency. Further, ambiguity surrounding the upper age limit has also been highlighted, with petitioners claiming the Single Bench failed to offer clarity on the issue.

The matter stems from the Supreme Court's recent directive which led to the termination of around 26,000 teachers and non-teaching staff across West Bengal. The apex court instructed that a fresh, transparent recruitment process be undertaken, following which the SSC issued a new notification in late May. However, the revised rules have continued to attract criticism.

Earlier, another candidate, Lubana Parveen, had filed a petition in the High Court challenging the eligibility conditions in the revised notification, particularly clauses related to age and prior experience, which she alleged violated recruitment norms.

Under the previous system, candidates were evaluated based on 55 marks for the written exam, 35 for academic qualifications, and 10 for the interview. In the new notification, the weightage for the written exam has been increased to 60, while academic marks have been reduced to 10. Ten marks each have now been allotted for teaching experience and lecture demonstration.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh