Rahul Gandhi urges Prez to ensure those selected fairly get to keep job

New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi Tuesday sought President Droupadi Murmu’s intervention in ensuring that the candidates who were selected as teachers and non-teaching staffers in West Bengal’s schools fairly are allowed to continue with their jobs.

In a major blow to the West Bengal government, the Supreme Court last week invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and staffers in state-run and aided schools, terming the entire selection process “vitiated and tainted”, thereby upholding the Calcutta High Court’s 2024 verdict in the matter.

The case stemmed from the alleged irregularities in the 2016 recruitment process conducted by the West Bengal School Service Commission in which 23 lakh candidates appeared for 24,640 posts and a total of 25,753 appointment letters were issued.

Seeking a resolution of the matter, Gandhi, in his letter to the President, said, “I write to request your intervention into the case of thousands of qualified school teachers in West Bengal who have lost their jobs due to the cancellation of the teacher recruitment process by the judiciary.”

“A delegation from the Shikshak Shikshika Adhikar Mancha (IX-X), a platform for affected teachers, apprised me of the matter and specifically requested me to write to you.”

“The Calcutta High Court found serious irregularities in teacher recruitment and declared the entire process null and void. On April 3, the Supreme Court upheld the High Court judgment,” the former Congress chief said.