— Qalam Times News Network
Verification of documents will soon begin for 2,124 teaching candidates who were excluded from the 2022 primary recruitment panel in West Bengal, following a directive from the Calcutta High Court. The West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) has issued an official notification outlining the procedure.
The move comes after the High Court directed the board to reconsider these candidates, whose applications were earlier rejected due to controversy surrounding their verification of academic qualifications. These aspirants had completed an 18-month D.El.Ed course through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) and later appeared for the 2022 Primary Teacher Eligibility Test (TET). However, the Supreme Court initially ruled that D.El.Ed degrees from NIOS were not valid for recruitment purposes, leading to their removal from the panel.
Later, the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) clarified that candidates who completed their D.El.Ed through NIOS before April 1, 2017, while already in service, would be deemed eligible. Acting on this clarification, the Supreme Court had earlier allowed the board to verify documents of nearly 1,200 such candidates.
Encouraged by this precedent, the remaining 2,124 rejected candidates approached the Calcutta High Court. The court accepted their plea and directed the WBBPE to initiate a fresh verification of their credentials.
According to the latest notice, the verification process will take place between July 22 and July 31 (excluding Sundays). Required documents include secondary and higher secondary mark sheets, birth certificates, TET certificates, and proof of employment in schools prior to April 2017, among a total of 13 listed documents.
If all submitted documents are found to be in order, the candidates will be considered for inclusion in the final recruitment panel.
