Raiganj, May 8: The Congress has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against the CPM-run managing committee of a high school for appointing a para-teacher after the announcement of the general elections, flouting the model code of conduct.
According to official sources, an interview was taken on July 23 for the appointment of a para-teacher of geography for Madargachhi High School in Karandighi. When the final panel was constituted, one of the candidates filed a case in Calcutta High Court pointing out “anomalies” in the interview process. Para-teachers who get a fixed monthly salary of Rs 5,500 are not recruited by the School Service Commission.
The high court passed an order in January asking the district planning officer (DPO) of the education cell to scrutinise the interview process and take a final decision.
Tapan Kumar Pandit, the DPO, examined the papers and upheld the earlier panel. He ordered the school authorities on March 1 to issue appointment letter to the one who had topped the panel — in this case Manotosh Sarkar — by March 15. Since the order reached the school on March 5, the managing committee appealed to the DPO to extend the joining date which Pandit extended by April 8.
The school authorities issued the appointment letter on March 27 and the teacher joined the post the next day.
Pandit said: “I had issued the order on March 1. The elections were declared on March 2,” The teacher would join after the polls, he added.
Headmaster of the school Ajay Ghosh said the appointment letter had been issued following the DPO’s order. “He is a senior government officer and knows the code of conduct better.” He also said the DPO did not know that the teacher had already joined.
Mohit Sengupta, the district Congress chief, has refused to buy the argument. “This is a gross violation of the election code of conduct with an eye to influencing a voter. We have taken up the matter with the commission,” he said.
The para-teacher said he was not bothered if someone had violated the code of conduct.
