The Calcutta High Court on Monday said it will resume on August 21 the hearing of appeals challenging the termination of nearly 32,000 primary school teachers in West Bengal.
A division bench comprising Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Reetobroto Kumar Mitra was hearing petitions against a single bench order that had cancelled the appointments of the teachers. During the proceedings, the petitioners’ counsel emphasised the distinction between the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) and the subsequent recruitment process, while Justice Chakraborty observed the importance of ensuring that deserving candidates are identified.
The case stems from a May 12, 2023, order by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who had directed the cancellation of the appointments of around 32,000 candidates. These individuals, recruited as primary teachers in 2016 based on the 2014 TET, had allegedly not completed the mandatory teachers’ training course at the time of their recruitment.
The division bench had earlier stayed the single bench order, allowing the teachers to continue in service for the time being. Monday’s hearing also referred to a previous Supreme Court direction that statements of all affected parties must be heard before a final decision, and to a past high court order on the legality of terminating such a large number of jobs in one go.
After hearing arguments, the court posted the matter for further hearing on August 21.
