The Education Department of West Bengal has instructed District Magistrates to identify candidates who obtained teaching and non-teaching positions in state-run schools by paying cash. These candidates are required to repay the salaries they received along with interest. The move follows court orders to recover payments made to individuals who secured jobs through irregular means.
District Magistrates have been tasked with compiling lists of candidates who obtained school jobs through fraudulent practices like submitting incomplete answer sheets or through unauthorized enrollments. The recovery process was initiated by the state education department based on directives from the highest authorities of the state administration. The Supreme Court mandated that ineligible teachers from the 2016 recruitment panel return their salaries.
The recovery work, pending for a long time, is now being expedited by the state government in compliance with the court’s order. The list of ineligible teachers released to the public earlier included names of relatives and associates of Trinamool Congress leaders. In 2015, the Supreme Court canceled the 2016 recruitment panel of WBSSC, resulting in the loss of jobs for over 25,000 individuals, including teaching and non-teaching staff.
