Bengal teacher job cuts raise concerns over evaluation of Board exam answer scripts

Kolkata: West Bengal’s education sector is in turmoil after the Supreme Court’s verdict led to the cancellation of nearly 26,000 teaching and non-teaching jobs. The unprecedented move has raised serious concerns over the evaluation of Madhyamik and Higher Secondary (HS) examination answer scripts and disrupted classroom teaching, particularly under the newly introduced semester system for HS students.

The Madhyamik exams, held from February 10 to 22, saw 9.84 lakh candidates, while 5.09 lakh students registered for the HS exams from May 3 to 18. With evaluations ongoing, many teachers are unsure whether they can continue checking answer scripts.

Ilazur Rahman, a former teacher at Dattachak High School, asked: “I received answer scripts when I was a teacher, but now I am unemployed. Can I still evaluate them?”

Pratap Ray Chowdhury of Gosaba AMC High School, who had completed Madhyamik evaluations, was scheduled to receive HS scripts on April 5, but is now uncertain who will take over.

West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) officials said that 70 lakh answer scripts of 10 lakh examinees had already been checked, minimising disruptions.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) President Chiranjib Bhattacharya acknowledged concerns but remained optimistic. “Several evaluators have informed us they will not continue. We are assessing the impact and will redistribute the remaining scripts,” he said. He also noted that because there are five lakh HS students this year, the examiner pool of 50,000 remains unchanged. “Even if 15-20% drop out, we can manage redistribution,” he added.

Classroom teaching has also been affected. Schools are struggling to continue classes, especially with the third semester for Class XII starting this month.

Parthapratim Baidya, headmaster of Jadavpur Vidyapeeth, said, “Our only Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science teacher lost their job. We don’t know how we will admit students for Class XI.”

At Naraindass Bangur Memorial Multipurpose School, three teachers lost their jobs. Headmaster Sanjay Barua said: “With our chemistry teacher gone, I don’t know how we will conduct science classes.”

WBCHSE officials said that they would discuss the matter with the state School Education Department.