WBSSC case: 300 HS teacher candidates disqualified for submitting fake experience certificates

KOLKATA — The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) has disqualified 300 candidates -- all of whom had qualified for interviews for higher secondary teacher posts -- after they were found to have submitted forged experience certificates to claim the 10-mark weightage allotted for prior teaching experience.

Officials from the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) stated that some of these disqualified candidates even provided forged birth certificates and academic mark sheets.

These disqualified candidates were identified as having furnished forged documents relating to their experience, age proofs, and academic qualifications during the scrutiny and verification of their documents by the WBSSC authorities, which began on November 18.

Candidates who appeared for the written test conducted in September this year but could not qualify for the interview after being unable to take advantage of the 10-mark weightage criterion for past teaching experience claimed that from the beginning, they had been objecting to this experience criterion.

They had claimed that by introducing this experience criterion in the fresh recruitment process, WBSSC had kept room for corruption open in the process.

In fact, when the results of the written examination were declared earlier this month, it was noticed that several freshers who performed exceptionally well in the written test were excluded from the interview shortlist solely because they lacked the experience-related weightage.

The written examination for fresh recruitment of higher secondary teachers was conducted in September this year, and its results were declared earlier this month.

The written examination for the fresh recruitment of secondary teachers was also conducted in September this year, and its results will be declared today. The results will be uploaded on the website of WBSSC by this evening.

The fresh recruitment process is being conducted to fill vacancies arising from the cancellation of around 26,000 school jobs by a Division Bench of the Supreme Court earlier this year.

While delivering the judgment in April, the apex court barred all "tainted" teachers -- those who had secured jobs by paying money -- from participating in the fresh recruitment cycle.