Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee mulls alternative roles for tainted teachers

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday that teachers deemed 'tainted' in the recruitment scam could be placed in Group C or D posts instead of teaching. Speaking at the Shiksha Ratna programme in Kolkata, she said the government was considering the move through legal means, adding that non-teaching staff who lost jobs after the Supreme Court's April 3 order would be considered in a fresh hiring process once teacher recruitment is over.

The remarks drew sharp criticism from groups representing 'untainted' teachers. Mehboob Mondal of the Jogyo Shikkhok Shikkhika Adhikar Mancha said honest candidates who passed the 2016 exam were being sacrificed. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari backed the protesters, saying it is unfair to ask them to compete with fresh candidates. On August 30 and 31, the West Bengal School Service Commission published a list of 1,806 tainted candidates as directed by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea by tainted candidates seeking to appear in the fresh recruitment process. The court had in April upheld the cancellation of nearly 26,000 appointments, ruling the 2016 process was 'fraught with fraud'. Fresh recruitment exams are scheduled for September 7 and 14.