Kolkata: The district-wise list of teachers from Classes IX-X and XI-XII, who were not found ‘tainted’ in the 2016 recruitment, has reached the offices of District Inspectors (DIs) of schools. Following this development, the long-stalled salary requisition process has officially commenced across the state.
The Supreme Court recently ruled that teachers appointed through the 2016 School Service Commission (SSC) process — not found tainted — can remain in service until December 31, 2025. However, confusion persisted over who, among the 17,206 teachers whose appointments were invalidated, fell into this ‘untainted’ category. This ambiguity had stalled the salary submission process until now. With the latest list in hand, DI offices have initiated verification. Headteachers have been directed to submit detailed Excel sheets listing each teacher’s name, designation, teaching level, transfer history, disability status and confirmation of inclusion in the ‘untainted’ list.
Schools must also provide hard copies of recommendation and appointment letters, approval of appointments, and, where applicable, transfer and release orders.
In Kolkata, only the names of the concerned teachers have been sent to schools, with an instruction to submit the relevant documents to the DI office in Kasba by Thursday at 3 pm. Officials in the School Education department said that DI offices will cross-check school-submitted details with the official list. Teachers not found on the list will be removed from the government’s salary portal. Final requisitions will be submitted after that. Meanwhile, protests by teachers claiming to be untainted have seen dwindling participation. Demonstrators at the WBSSC headquarters in Salt Lake, who had earlier blocked traffic between Sector V and Karunamoyee, failed to gather sufficient numbers on Wednesday.
WBSSC chairman Siddhartha Majumder, who had been confined by protestors for two nights, left the office on Wednesday morning after requesting release to appear before the Calcutta High Court. Three female staffers were also allowed to leave.
Despite the partial relief, many protestors remain unhappy. Chinmoy Mondal, a protest leader whose name reportedly does not appear on the list, alleged that numerous deserving candidates were excluded. “This must be rectified immediately,” he said.
Sources confirmed that officials are reviewing Mondal’s case to determine whether the omission was due to an error or if he features on the tainted list.
Protesting teachers have said that sit-in demonstrations will continue, although some are planning to return to classrooms starting Thursday.