West Bengal recruitment scam: CBI, WBSSC at odds on number of illegal teacher recruitments

Fresh records procured from the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) have now revealed that the maximum number of illegal recruitments of teachers in state-run schools as part of the recruitment scam were made for English teachers. 

IANS reported that following the instruction of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of Calcutta High Court on Thursday, December 1, the WBSSC published on its website the names of the 183 candidates deemed by the commission to have illegally procured teachers' jobs. According to the list, the maximum number of illegal recruitments was made for the subject of English at 57, followed by Geography at 30, Life Science at 22, Bengali at 21, Mathematics and Physical Science at 18 each and History at 17. These appointments happened in 2016.

Besides asking the WBSSC to publish these names on the website of the commission, Justice Gangopadhyay has also sought an explanation of steps taken for the termination of services of these illegally-appointed teachers. Meanwhile, the commission has pegged the number of illegal recruitments for Classes IX and X at just 183. On the other hand, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is conducting a probe into the teachers' recruitment scam, has submitted a separate list to the court on this count where the figure has been pegged at 952, reported IANS.

On Thursday, Justice Gangopadhyay asked the counsels of three parties, CBI, WBSSC and the petitioners in the case to sit together on December 3, and discuss the documents like optical marks recognition (OMR) sheets and hard discs seized or recovered in the matter and settle the difference in the two figures.

He has also directed the CBI to submit a report to his bench on the result of the joint findings. While issuing the directions, Justice Gangopadhyay asked WBSSC and CBI not to be scared as "bigger rats will emerge" during the course of the investigation.