Over 31,000 candidates from outside Bengal line up for teacher recruit exam, TMC takes a dig at BJP’s ‘double-engine govts’ in UP, Bihar

Rajkumar Yadav had come all the way from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh to appear for the exam for 23,312 assistant teacher posts. “I am hoping the exams go well. In Uttar Pradesh, there are no jobs. So, I applied here,” he said as he lined up outside an exam centre on the outskirts of Kolkata.

Satish Kumar, who has done BEd and Masters in Science, also reached Kolkata to appear in the examination. “I have appeared in recruitment exams in Rajasthan as well as in UP. Right now, no examination is being held. So, I came here.”

There were several candidates from neighbouring Jharkhand and Bihar at the centre.

In a statement, WBSSC chairman Siddhartha Majumdar said: “Today, the examination for recruitment of assistant teachers for class levels 9-10 was completed peacefully and in a seamless manner. Around 91 per cent of the 3.19 lakh candidates appeared for the exam. I thank the entire state administration for its fullest support to enable us to conduct the exams in a smooth manner… The total number of outstation candidates was more than 31,000.”

The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) took a swipe at the BJP’s “double-engine governments” in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, saying youths from those states travelled to West Bengal to take the exam, as recruitment processes in their home states were either stalled or unreliable.

In a post on X, Ghosh wrote in Bengali that job-seekers from “Yogi Rajya” and other states were taking the West Bengal’s SSC exams as they faced repeated postponements and lack of opportunities in their own states.

Yogi Adityanath is the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. He further stressed that West Bengal has never barred non-residents from writing state recruitment tests.

This was the first recruitment exam conducted by the WBSSC after a gap of nine years. Its 2016 SLST was mired in corruption charges, leading to the Supreme Court sacking close to 26,000 teachers and non-teaching staff earlier this year.

Question papers being brought to a centre in Kolkata ahead of the exam on Sunday (Express/Partha Paul)

Ahead of the examinations, the WBSSC released a list of 1,806 “tainted candidates” of the 2016 SLST who were not allowed to appear in the latest round of hiring.

‘Hope it’s fair this time’

At Bidhannagar College in Salt Lake in North 24 Parganas several candidates were seen waiting in front of the examination centre from early morning, though the exam began at 12 noon as scheduled.

Sahida Biwi from Murshidabad, who had come with her father for the exam, said: “This is the first time that I am appearing for this examination. I have cleared B.Ed. But I am nervous today.”

Anita Mondol, a parent of a candidate, sitting outside the college, said: “My son has an MTech degree but did not get through in the 2016 SLST. This is his second time. I am hopeful that this time there will be no corruption.”

Monami Das, who appeared for the second time for the teacher’s recruitment exam, said, “We are tired. Why are the recruitment examinations being held after nine years? It should be held every year.”

Sudipta Mondol, a first-time candidate, said, “This is a golden opportunity for us. The examinations are taking place after nearly a decade. This only happened due to the Supreme Court’s order. But we don’t have much trust in the system.”

Speaking to the mediapersons, Chinmoy Mondol, a prominent face of the protest for the untainted candidates, said: “It is because of the fault of the current ruling government that we have to appear for the examination again. This was not expected.”

A section of untainted candidates who lost their jobs due to the cancellation of the 2016 panel by the Supreme Court wore black as a mark of protest.

Coming out of the examination hall at Basanti Devi college centre, Satabdi Kanjilal said, “The questions were easy and we did not face difficulties in solving… The exams have finally been held. I hope in a fair manner. Since my age won’t permit me to sit for the tests again by next year, I am pinning all my hopes this time to crack it,” she said.

Later in the day, CPI(M) leader Shatarup Ghosh said the TMC government would now get a chance to get “cut money” from candidates of other states as well.