The provision to award up to 10 marks for “prior teaching experience” in the screening process for teachers at the secondary and higher secondary levels has been framed in a way that does not conflict with what the Supreme Court said in its April 17 order, a senior education department official said on Saturday.

The official said they decided to give marks to the in-service teachers who would take part in the fresh hiring process, but the department’s recruitment rules notice does not say this advantage will be restricted to teachers “specifically not found tainted” and allowed to return to schools following the apex court reprieve on April 17.

The court’s order said teachers appointed based on a selection test carried out by the school service commission in 2016, who have since been categorised as “not specifically tainted”, would have to take part in the fresh selection process to retain their jobs after December 31, and they would only be eligible for an age
relaxation.

“Although many against the fresh hiring drive allege that awarding marks based on teaching experience conflicts with the Supreme Court’s order, we want to clarify that the rules have been drafted in a way that this provision does not create a legal dispute. We have not said that only those appointed based on the 2016 selection test would be awarded marks based on their teaching experience — this benefit is open to all in-service teachers,” the official said.

The rules said marks based on teaching experience would be offered to contractual teachers as well, he said.

“So, what we have drafted and uploaded is legally tenable,” the official said.

An SSC official said the OMR sheets of candidates who appear for the tests will be uploaded on the commission’s website for a fee to ensure transparency.

“Candidates will retain a copy of their OMR sheets after taking the tests, which are likely to be held in the first week of September. Additionally, we will upload the OMR sheets on our website. The frozen or final answers, based on which the scripts will be evaluated, will also be uploaded,” the official said.

In the selection process, the weightage for academic qualifications has been reduced from 20 to 10, while the written test weightage has been increased from 55 to 65. This change is so that the teaching job aspirants are selected more on the basis of their exam performance than on educational qualifications.

The recruitment rules uploaded by the education department early on May 30 said 10 marks for teaching experience will be calculated “on the basis of 2 marks for each year of service in a substantive post (permanent or contractual)”.

An SSC official said it could not be denied that the state government intends to favour the 15,403 teachers “not specifically found tainted” so they could be retained after December 31.

“Those teachers who wrote the State Level Selection Test (SLST) in 2016 were appointed in 2019. They have spent five years in service and are entitled to the 10 marks. But a teacher appointed through a selection test in 2006 can also apply to write the tests in September, as long as they are within the age limit. An in-service teacher appointed in 2006 at the secondary level can apply to write the tests to get a higher secondary level teaching job with better pay,” the official said.

Teaching experience and classroom demonstration are two parameters introduced in the 2025 screening process.

The 10 marks allotted for classroom demonstration by “appearing before the interview panel” is also intended to favour in-service teachers.

“This, too, is open for all,” said the official.

SSC chairperson Siddhartha Majumdar said: “We have submitted our affidavit before the Supreme Court on initiating the fresh recruitment process, in pursuance of the court’s April 17 order.”