Kolkata: The state School Education Department has published the Primary School Special Education Teachers Recruitment Rules, 2025, enabling the first full-time recruitment of such teachers for children with special needs. Previously, they were only appointed on a contractual basis. Similar rules were earlier introduced for upper-primary levels.
The selection process will begin with an OMR-based Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), conducted according to National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) norms. Candidates will receive carbonless duplicates of their OMR sheets for their records. To ensure transparency, written answer scripts and OMR sheets will be preserved for at least ten years, or longer if required due to court cases, with digital copies securely stored. Candidates will be assessed based on 100 marks, including TET scores (80 marks), classroom teaching demonstrations (10 marks), and interviews (10 marks). A state-wide merit list and district-wise panels will be prepared. A waiting list will also be published, but it will not guarantee appointment. The final selection list will include individual scores, category-wise cut-offs and the marks of the last selected candidates.
Applicants must meet the educational qualifications set by the Central government. The age limit for direct recruitment is 20 to 40 years, with relaxations for reserved categories and experienced candidates.
The government may reserve up to 10 per cent of vacant posts for Special Educators and IED coordinators who are currently working under the Paschim Banga Samagra Shiksha Mission (PBSSM) or in government-recognised special schools run by the Mass Education and Extension department. However, the recruitment process may not begin immediately due to an ongoing legal case in the Supreme Court regarding OBC reservations.
The West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) previously issued a statement saying it cannot release a new recruitment notice without a category-wise vacancy list from the State School Education department, which is on hold due to the OBC case.