The School Service Commission (SSC) will start accepting online applications for non-teaching posts in government-aided schools by the end of October, an education department official said on Monday.

The process, initially scheduled to begin on September 16, was stalled as the SSC was occupied with uploading model answer keys for teacher recruitment tests for secondary and higher secondary levels.

The process of uploading and receiving challenges against model answers is now complete.

“Once the office reopens after the Puja vacation on October 7, we will issue an advertisement detailing the schedule for submitting online applications (for the non-teaching posts),” SSC chairperson Siddhartha Majumdar told Metro on Monday.

In August, the SSC had uploaded a notification stating that, in compliance with the Supreme Court’s April 3 order, it was starting the selection process for non-teaching staff in recognised government-aided schools.

The urgency stems from the fact that, unlike the 17,206 sacked teachers, the 8,547 dismissed Group C and D staff are not receiving any interim financial support.

An education department official said: “We are committed to completing the recruitment of Group C and D staff at the earliest. The non-teaching staff are not getting any monthly allowance.”

In April, the state government had proposed a monthly allowance of ₹25,000 for Group C and ₹20,000 for Group D staff. However, Justice Amrita Sinha of Calcutta High Court stayed the allowance, saying it contradicted the Supreme Court’s sack order, which declared the SSC 2016 recruitment “vitiated beyond redemption.” The stay has been extended till January 30, 2026.

In a moderated order on April 17, the Supreme Court allowed untainted sacked teachers to continue in service and draw salaries till December 31. To retain their jobs beyond that date, they must clear fresh selection tests. The SSC was directed to complete the fresh teacher recruitment by the end of the year. Accordingly, selection tests were conducted on September 7 and 14 for secondary and higher secondary levels.

However, the apex court did not set a deadline for the reappointment of non-teaching staff, though it noted a high volume of complaints regarding irregularities in their appointments.

A department official stressed that the absence of a court-mandated timeline does not justify delay: “We must proceed without further delay. These people must be struggling to survive in the absence of any allowance.”

Amit Mandal, a sacked Group C employee, expressed frustration: “We are not getting any support. The government seems focused only on the teachers who are still getting salaries. What about us?”

Many like Mandal have been forced into odd jobs to survive.

The state government has challenged the high court stay on the allowance, but the outcome remains pending.