‘Golden opportunity for us, but do not trust the system much’; candidates appear in WBSSC SLST exam for assistant teacher posts amid tight security

At Bidhannagar College in Salt Lake near Kolkata, several candidates were seen waiting in front of the examination centre from early morning. As the time to enter the centre approached, they were seen making serpentine queues in the scorching heat. After the gates opened, college and SSC officials made announcements informing the candidates what could and could not be carried inside the examination centre. Security guards with metal detectors were seen frisking the candidates and also checking all documents before allowing entry. Coloured bottles, handkerchiefs, and bags were not allowed inside the centre.

Sahida Biwi, a candidate from Murshidabad who came to the examination centre with her father Rafi Ali, told The Indian Express, “This is the first time that I am taking this examination. I am nervous… We hired a car and reached here around 6 am. I have been waiting outside the centre since then.”

The list of the 1,806 tainted candidates whose admit cards had been cancelled was also pasted outside examination centres.

Under the jurisdiction of the Kolkata Police, there were a total of 41 examination centres. According to sources in Lalbazar, the headquarters of the Kolkata Police, one sub-inspector, one assistant sub-inspector, two policemen with batons, two armed policemen and two women constables were deployed in each examination centre.

In the districts, too, the police kept a close vigil. Chief Secretary Manoj Pant Saturday held a meeting with all district magistrates to review administrative preparedness for the exam.

Anita Mondol, a parent of a candidate waiting outside the Bidhannagar College, said, “My son has an MTech degree, but did not get through in the 2016 WBSSC SLST. This is his second attempt. I am hopeful that this time, no corruption will happen.”

Sudipta Mondol, a first-time candidate who is appearing for zoology, said, “I’m nervous, but this is also a golden opportunity for us. The examination is taking place after nearly a decade. The examination is being held only due to the Supreme Court order, but I don’t have much trust in the system.”

Monami Das, who is taking the SLST exam for the second time, said, “We are tired… Several of us are close to 40 years old. Why is the examination being held after nine years? It should be held every year.”

Many candidates also came from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand.

Satish Kumar, a candidate from Uttar Pradesh, said, “I have given exams in Rajasthan also. In UP, right now, there is no such examination. So, I came here.”

Rajkumar Yadav, another candidate from UP’s Jaunpur, who is appearing for mathematics, said, “We are just hoping for the examination to go well. In UP, there is no job, so I applied here.”

Meanwhile, several untainted candidates who had lost their jobs due to the cancellation of the 2016 panel were seen wearing black as a mark of protest.

Speaking to the media, Chinmoy Mondol, a prominent face among untainted candidates, said, “It is because of the fault of the current government that we have to appear for the examination again; this was not expected.”

After the examination ended at 2 pm, Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu posted on social media, “Today, 3.5 lakh candidates appeared across 636 centres for the Assistant Teacher recruitment exam (Classes IX–X), which was conducted successfully. My sincere congratulations to all candidates, WBCSSC, the School Education Department, and all officials involved. The entire administration also looks forward to extending all possible support to ensure that next Sunday’s examination for recruiting Assistant Teachers for Classes XI-XII is to be conducted with utmost security, clarity and transparency.”

This time, candidates were allowed to take back the question paper and a carbon copy of their respective OMR sheets.

Ratul Roy, a first-time candidate, said after the exam, “It was good taking back the OMR sheet so I can calculate myself how much I have scored. The paper was simple. But one thing is that the untainted candidates who are appearing again will get an advantage over us, as they will get an extra 10 marks.”

Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari had on Saturday alleged that 152 tainted candidates have been given admit cards. “Faulty exam. One hundred and fifty-two fake admit cards have been given. Among them are relatives of the chief minister,” Adhikari alleged.

In April, the Supreme Court upheld the Calcutta High Court order scrapping the employment of around 26,000 teachers who were recruited through the WBSSC SLST exam held in 2016. The appointments were cancelled owing to a flawed selection method and large-scale corruption in the recruitment process.

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