The Supreme Court has scheduled for April 17 a hearing on the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education’s (WBBSE) plea seeking permission to retain untainted teachers until a fresh recruitment process is completed.

This follows the apex court’s April 3 judgment quashing the 2016 recruitment of over 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff owing to widespread irregularities.

A bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar listed the matter for hearing after senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, representing the board, requested an urgent hearing.

The petition, filed through advocate-on-record Hima Lawrence, seeks “appropriate directions and/or modification of the Judgment to permit the appointed candidates not found to be tainted to temporarily continue in various schools, without claiming any equity in their favour until the end of the academic year or until the process for fresh appointments is concluded, whichever is earlier, so that education of the students does not suffer”.

Notably, the board stated in its application that it received approval from the Bengal government on April 3 to begin the selection process following the court’s decision to uphold the Calcutta High Court’s ruling that quashed the entire selection process.

“Appropriate steps are being taken in terms of the Judgment for filling up of the vacancies which have arisen on account of the selection process having been set aside. The Applicant is informed that a letter dated 03.04.2025 addressed by the State Government to the West Bengal Central School Service Commission has been issued,” the application said.

The board cited several concerns to support its request:

• The WBSE oversees 9,487 high schools (of which 6,952 have higher secondary sections for Classes XI and XII) serving over 78.6 lakh students.
• It also supervises 6,350 Upper Primary Schools (Classes VI-VIII). Approximately 88 per cent of student enrollments in the state are in government or government-aided schools.
• The teacher strength of 1,51,568 (excluding headmasters) is already strained, with most schools relying on a single teacher per subject for Classes V to X. The termination of 17,206 teachers — 11.35 per cent of the existing teaching staff — would have a “devastating impact” across schools in the state.

Currently, the pupil-teacher ratio in the state’s secondary/higher secondary schools stands at 52:1, well above the 30:1 ratio prescribed under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan. This ratio would further deteriorate to 58:1 if the terminations
proceed.

“The education system in the State, including classroom instructions particularly in subjects such as Mathematics, Science, and Languages, would be gravely and irreparably prejudiced. The students would suffer from significant learning gaps, especially those preparing for board examinations, and many ongoing classes will come to a halt,” the board argued.

The board further emphasised that “the immediate termination of the teaching staff will also put significant burden on the remaining teaching staff, leading to larger class sizes and compromised learning environment. The academic year commenced in January and the classes are midway. Sudden stoppage of teaching would have a significant detrimental impact on the learning process of the students”.