Calcutta HC seeks report on the vacant teachers' posts in state

Kolkata, July 25 (IANS) The Calcutta High Court on Monday directed the West Bengal Education Department to submit details of the vacant post of teachers in the state by Tuesday.

Delivering the order, a bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay has directed the state Education Department that the vacant post in the five categories - primary, secondary, higher secondary, madrasa and high madrasa - should be separately mentioned in the list to be submitted in the court.

It is learnt that the state government had been constantly telling the high court about the inability to start the process of filling up the vacant posts of teachers because of so many cases going on in court over teachers' recruitment.

Justice Gangopadhyay observed that although the state government had been claiming again and again that there are currently 18,000 vacant posts of teachers in different categories, they had not submitted any specific list of vacant posts on this count.

Legal experts feel that by ordering the state government to submit the list of vacant posts of teachers in the state, the Calcutta High Court wants to check how far the state government's claims of 18,000 vacant posts are valid.

In fact, while delivering the order, Justice Gangopadhyay observed that it is unfortunate that the judicial system is being forced to face "political ragging".

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has several times claimed that so many petitions in the courts are becoming a deterrent for the state government to go for fresh teachers' recruitment. She even blamed CPI-M Rajya Sabha member and senior advocate, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, for creating hurdles by representing the petitioners in such cases.