Around 8.09 lakh candidates will appear for the state-level selection test (SLST) on Sunday, being held to select candidates for Group D jobs in schools.
The final objective is to fill 5,444 Group D (peon) posts in secondary and higher secondary schools.
A test was held on March 1 for Group C (clerk) jobs. It had around 7.5 lakh candidates.
Among the examinees will be around 2,000 “untainted” school staff whose jobs were terminated following a Supreme Court order. They now have to clear the fresh selection process to retain jobs.
The School Service Commission (SSC) had earlier published a list of 3,512 “tainted” non-teaching staff and barred them from the fresh selection process.
On April 3, 2025, the apex court scrapped the jobs of 17,206 teachers and 8,544 non-teaching staff, saying the 2016 recruitment process conducted by the SSC was “vitiated” and “tainted beyond redemption”.
Some of the things one must know:
SLST on March 8: To shortlist candidates for 5,444 Group D (peon) posts in government-aided schools.
Examinees: 8.09 lakh have applied.
Venues: 1,707 centres have been set across the state, with each monitored by an observer from a college or university.
Exam time: Noon to 1.50pm.
Reporting time: Candidates must arrive by 11.45am.
Candidates can start entering centres from 10am. They will be frisked with hand-held metal detectors. Some candidates were able to sneak mobile phones into the exam halls during the March 1 test. An SSC official said that those frisking candidates have been told to be more stringent.
Security measures: The SSC has prohibited candidates from wearing “shoes or boots” during the test. They can wear slippers or flat sandals.
An SSC official said the move was introduced to prevent candidates from sneaking in mobile phones or other devices. It was in keeping with the practice that the National Testing Agency has enforced in all-India exams such as NEET.
Items barred: Mobile phones, watches, calculators, log tables, and other gadgets. All centres will have wall clocks.
Possession of any prohibited item will lead to immediate disqualification. The SSC cancelled the examinations of 20 candidates after mobile phones were seized from them during the March 1 exam.
The guidelines also state that photocopy centres near exam venues must remain shut.
Items allowed: Candidates must carry their admit cards (downloaded from the SSC website and bearing barcodes), a photo identity card such as Aadhaar, and only transparent black or blue ballpoint pens.
Transparent water bottles are permitted. Venue-in-charges have been instructed to keep extra transparent pens available.
Central forces: With the Assembly elections approaching, the Election Commission has mobilised the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). In response, the Staff
Selection Commission (SSC) has sent a letter to the police commissioners and the director-general of Bengal Police, to ensure that the forces do not enter the exam centres on March 8.
Facilities: Each centre will have a cloakroom for candidates to deposit valuables in exchange for a token. There will also be designated enclosures where women candidates will be frisked by female personnel.
Loudspeaker ban: The education department’s guidelines emphasise strict enforcement of the ban on using loudspeakers near examination centres during exam hours.