Chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday that time is running out and the state government would go ahead with the notification for the recruitment process for teaching and non-teaching staff as instructed by the Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court has set a time frame. If we do not obey it, the Supreme Court can say since you did not follow our order, we reject the review petition,” Mamata said addressing the media at the state secretariat. “We do not want that to happen. We do not want anyone to lose their jobs.”
In its order issued last month, the Supreme Court had asked the state government to issue an advertisement with the notification for fresh recruitment process by May 31 and complete the process by December 31. The SC and previously the Calcutta High Court had scrapped the entire panel for 2016 state level selection test by the School Service Commission was dismissed in the cash-for-jobs scam.
“We have already filed the review petition. Summer vacation is on in the Supreme Court. Whenever the court opens we expect the review petition will be heard. We are keeping all the options open, while following the instructions of the apex court,” Mamata said.
Mamata said advertisements will be issued for filling up 24, 203 teaching posts which are deemed to be vacant.
“We have also created some more posts which will be filled up through the fresh recruitment process,” the chief minister said. “The total vacancies to be filled up is 44, 203.”
The chief minister announced 11, 537 vacancies in classes IX and X, 6,912 in classes XI and XII, 571 in group-C and 1,000 in group-D.
A section of the teachers and non-teaching staff who have been on the street demanding they be reinstated have declared they do not want to go through the recruitment process all over again.
“We must wait for the review petition to be decided. It is wrong for anyone to say we won’t appear for the fresh examinations. This is not the government’s order. Some selfish people to protect their interests have done this,” Mamata said. “We are forced to take this decision because the jobs of 26,000 teaching and non-teaching staff is at stake. If they do not avail of this opportunity they could lose their jobs.”
Mamata said as soon as the review petition is heard by the Supreme Court and a verdict reached, the government will act accordingly.
Announcing the dates for the recruitment process, Mamata said, online applications will be accepted from June 16 onwards and will continue till July 14.
“We have kept a long window just in case the review petition is heard and the decision is in our favour. But we cannot predict what the verdict will be,” she said.
The chief minister added that though the Supreme Court has given the state government time till December 31 to complete the process, the government will wrap it up by November.
The sacked teachers and non-teaching staff protesting outside Bikash Bhawan for the last 21 days said, their worst fears had come true after the chief minister’s announcement.
“The chief minister signed the death warrant for us, the untainted candidates. She has completely bypassed the corruption of the state government and the school service
commission and pushed us towards examination,” said a sacked teacher. “We have been teaching for the last seven years. The government has not shown its accountability towards us. There was no need for such a detailed notification.”