After 9 years, Bengal resumes teacher recruitment test with 3 lakh aspirants

After nearly a decade lost to courtroom wrangles and the unyielding cries of restless aspirants, the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) is finally set to open the doors of opportunity once more, conducting the first phase of the long-delayed State Level Selection Test this Sunday, with the second to follow on 14 September.

The exam seeks to fill 35,726 teaching posts in state-run schools—23,212 for Classes 9–10 and 12,514 for Classes 11–12. Over 5.65 lakh candidates have applied across both phases. On Sunday alone, more than 3.19 lakh candidates will take the test at 636 centres across the state.

Candidates must report by 10 am, with entry closing at 11:45 am. Question papers will be delivered between 10 and 10:30 am and distributed at 11:45 am, with the test beginning at noon.

This fresh recruitment drive comes in the shadow of the teacher recruitment scam that rocked Bengal politics. The 2016 SLST — the last one conducted — was tainted by allegations of bribery, OMR sheet manipulation, and backdoor appointments. Several high-profile arrests followed, including former education minister Partha Chatterjee, Trinamool MLA Jiban Krishna Saha, and senior education department officials.

On 3 April, the Supreme Court annulled the appointments of nearly 26,000 teachers and staff recruited through the 2016 process and barred those involved from reappearing. Following its order, WBSSC published a list of 1,806 tainted candidates on 30 August.

To prevent malpractice this time, strict security has been put in place. Candidates will be frisked with metal detectors, with separate enclosures for women supervised by female staff.

Phones, smartwatches, calculators, and opaque items are banned, while only transparent pens, folders, and water bottles are allowed. Even SSC officials and venue supervisors will be restricted from carrying mobiles into the exam halls.

Meanwhile, Kolkata Metro will run regular services on both the Blue Line (Dakshineswar–Kavi Subhash) and Green Line (Howrah Maidan–Salt Lake Sector V) to help candidates reach their centres.

With IANS inputs