1 day ago
Bengal Teachers Face Recruitment Uncertainty Despite Final May 2027 Deadline
The Supreme Court gave West Bengal more time to hire schoolteachers.
The new deadline is May 31, 2027, and the court said there will be no further extension.
Some teachers whose appointments were cancelled but who were not accused of wrongdoing can keep receiving salaries until then.
The government changed the OBC reservation share from 17 percent to 7 percent.
Because of this, officials must change the candidate lists.
Teachers worry that some people may lose their earlier rankings or not be invited to interviews.
They also fear new court cases could slow the process again.
The recruitment is meant to fill more than 35,000 school posts.
The Supreme Court extended Bengal’s teacher-recruitment deadline to May 31, 2027, calling it the last and final extension.
The court said 15,403 “untainted but terminated” teachers may continue receiving salaries until that date.
Recruitment authorities must recast merit panels after the state reduced OBC reservations from 17% to 7%.
Teachers fear legal challenges and revised rankings could delay recruitment or exclude candidates from interviews.
The current exercise covers 35,654 vacancies: 12,445 higher-secondary and 23,209 secondary posts.
- Who
- The Supreme Court, the West Bengal School Service Commission, the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, and affected schoolteachers.
- What
- The court granted a final extension for fresh teacher recruitment and continued salaries for untainted but terminated teachers.
- Where
- West Bengal, including government-aided secondary and higher-secondary schools.
- When
- The deadline is May 31, 2027; applications for the current recruitment opened on June 16, 2025.
- Why
- Recruitment authorities requested more time to revise panels and procedures after OBC reservations were reduced from 17% to 7%.
Teachers’ concerns
Authorities’ position
Recruitment deadline
Teachers’ concerns
Teachers fear the School Service Commission may fail to complete recruitment by May 31, 2027, citing earlier delays and court cases.
Authorities’ position
The Supreme Court granted the extension as a last and final opportunity and said there would be no further extension.
OBC reservation change
Teachers’ concerns
Teachers argue that applying the new 7% quota to a process that began under a 17% quota could be legally questionable and could alter candidates’ rankings.
Authorities’ position
The recruitment authorities said revising procedures for the new quota required additional time, and the School Service Commission began recasting the panels.
Candidate selection
Teachers’ concerns
Teachers fear that recasting the panels and requiring OBC sub-category edits could prevent some candidates from reaching the interview stage.
Authorities’ position
The commission said candidates who do not submit their OBC sub-categories will automatically be treated as unreserved-category candidates.
Key facts
- Final recruitment deadline
- May 31, 2027
- Salary protection
- The 15,403 “untainted but terminated” teachers may receive salaries until May 31, 2027.
- Previous deadline
- The earlier deadline was August 31, 2026.
- Reservation change
- The OBC quota was reduced from 17% to 7%.
- Vacancies
- There are 12,445 higher-secondary and 23,209 secondary vacancies.
- Total posts
- The current recruitment exercise is intended to fill 35,654 posts.
- Court ruling
- The Supreme Court invalidated the earlier recruitment process and ordered fresh recruitment.
Quotes
Justice Sanjay Kumar
Supreme Court judge who headed the bench hearing the deadline-extension applications
“Changing the recruitment rules midway through the process may not be legally tenable. Several cases have already been filed at Calcutta High Court over the state government’s decision to implement 7% OBC reservation instead of 17%. We fear the fresh legal challenges will again come in the way of completing the recruitment process by May 2027.”
telegraphindia.com
“On May 18, 2026, the chief minister announced that only 7% OBC reservation would be granted to 66 classes. But how can a May 18, 2026, decision be applicable to a recruitment exercise that began in June 2025?”
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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