West Bengal teachers recruitment scam: CBI files fresh FIR over irregularities

Forming the SIT in June last year, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay had said that the probe into the alleged irregularities in teachers' recruitment will be monitored by the court
Pic credits: Edex Live
Pic credits: Edex Live

The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a fresh FIR in connection with alleged irregularities in the appointment of assistant teachers for primary schools in West Bengal in 2020, officials said on Sunday, March 19. Further, they said the FIR has been registered against unidentified people on a Calcutta High Court order directing the federal probe agency to investigate the allegations, as stated in a report by PTI

What is the case about?

The case pertains to alleged irregularities in the process of appointing 16,500 primary teachers initiated by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) on November 23, 2020, for the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) passed and trained candidates. To note, the WBBPE conducted interviews and aptitude tests of the candidates and published the first merit list on February 15, 2021.
 

What did the FIR say?

The FIR alleged, "It is alleged that the West Bengal Board of Primary Education adopted dubious and corrupt means in the appointment of assistant teachers for primary schools in West Bengal and to do so and also to keep the applicants in darkness, the WBBPE didn't publish the entire merit list of successful candidates."

Moreover, it said that it was contrary to the provisions of the West Bengal Primary Teachers Recruitment Rules, 2016 and the subsequent amendments. As per the FIR, undeserving candidates were cleared through the merit list by manipulating their categories from General to Exempted.

"It is also alleged that as part of a criminal conspiracy, the unknown officials of West Bengal Board of Primary Education also extended undue advantages to certain candidates by awarding high marks even more than the total marks prescribed/stipulated on the educational qualifications of such candidates in TET," the FIR said.

Court Monitoring 

The Calcutta High Court is monitoring the cases about the teachers' recruitment scam in West Bengal. In this regard, the court had in January removed an officer from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the CBI, which is probing the primary school teachers' recruitment scam for failing to take ahead the probe properly.

Forming the SIT in June last year, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay had said that the probe into the alleged irregularities in primary school teachers' recruitment will be monitored by the court, as stated in a report by PTI

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