CBI files fresh FIR over irregularities in teachers' recruitment in Bengal schools
Officials have stated that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a fresh FIR in connection with alleged irregularities surrounding the appointment of assistant teachers for primary schools in West Bengal in 2020. The FIR has been filed against unidentified individuals following a Calcutta High Court order directing the federal probe agency to investigate the allegations. The case is related to supposed irregularities in the process of appointing 16,500 primary teachers initiated by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) on November 23, 2020, for Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) passed and trained candidates.
According to the FIR, it is alleged that the West Bengal Board of Primary Education utilized dubious and corrupt means in the appointment of assistant teachers for primary schools in West Bengal. The WBBPE did not publish the entire merit list of successful candidates in order to keep the applicants in the dark, and undeserving candidates were cleared through the merit list by manipulating their categories from General to Exempted. Additionally, officials of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education are suspected of having extended undue advantages to certain candidates by awarding high marks even more than the total marks prescribed/stipulated on the educational qualifications of such candidates in TET. These actions were contrary to the provisions of West Bengal Primary Teachers Recruitment Rules, 2016 and the subsequent amendments.
The Calcutta High Court is closely monitoring cases pertaining to the teachers' recruitment scam in West Bengal. In January, the court removed an officer from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the CBI, which is investigating the primary school teachers' recruitment scam, for failing to advance the investigation properly. The court had previously stated that the probe into the alleged irregularities in primary school teachers' recruitment would be monitored by the court after forming the SIT in June last year, under the leadership of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay.