The high court on Tuesday asked the school service commission to submit a report on a plea by sacked secondary and higher secondary schoolteachers seeking permission to take part in the ongoing counselling process for the appointment of teachers at the upper primary level (Classes VI to VIII).

These teachers, who had been selected as assistant teachers based on a selection test by the SSC in 2016, had also cracked the Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET) conducted by the commission to appoint teachers at the upper primary level.

However, they did not participate in the counselling for the upper primary level, which began late last year, as the Supreme Court had not yet terminated their jobs as secondary and higher secondary teachers in government-aided schools.

The apex court terminated their jobs on April 3 because the selection process held in 2016 was “vitiated”.

Lawyer Ekramul Bari, representing the petitioners, appealed to Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee of Calcutta High Court for a direction “to permit the petitioners to participate in the ongoing counselling process” for the upper primary jobs.

On June 3, Justice Chatterjee asked the commission “to submit a report in the form of an affidavit addressing the issues raised by the petitioners before the regular bench on a returnable date.”

The judge said the regular bench will hear the case after three weeks.

Lawyer Bari said if the commission grants permission, 4,500-odd sacked teachers could get a crack at the upper primary level.

The order says Sutanu Patra, the advocate appearing for the commission, vehemently opposed the contention presented by Bari and submitted that the petitioners did not participate in the verification and personality test, and therefore, “cannot claim any right to participate in the ongoing counselling.”

An SSC official said the prayer could not be granted because it would amount to doing injustice to candidates who participated in the verification process and personality tests.

“They are waiting for their turn. Now, if we allow these petitioners (the sacked teachers) to take part in the counselling, this will disrupt the entire process, inviting legal challenges. We must remember that recruitment at the upper primary level could be started after overcoming immense legal challenges,” the SSC official told The Telegraph.

When contacted, SSC chairperson Siddhartha Majumdar declined to comment.

On August 28, 2024, a division bench of Calcutta High Court asked the SSC to recruit 14,052 assistant teachers at the upper primary level of government-aided schools.

The candidates who have since been appointed and will be appointed subsequently had written the 2015 Teachers Eligibility Test (TET), which was held in 2016.

No one could be recruited after a barrage of petitions were filed against the recruitment process, alleging irregularities.

A division bench headed by Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty said in a written order that “unsuccessful candidates” whose names were not on the merit list based on the candidates’ performance in the written test, personality tests and academic scores could not halt the upper primary recruitment process.

An SSC official said they would communicate their stand to the regular bench.

“We can understand that these sacked teacher did not take part in the upper primary counselling as they hoped the Supreme Court would quash the decision of Calcutta High Court on terminating their jobs. We cannot do injustice to those who participated in the personality tests on due dates,” the official said.