Fri Apr 04 23:10:00 UTC 2025: ## West Bengal Faces Education Crisis After Supreme Court Cancels 25,000 Teacher Appointments
**Kolkata, April 5, 2025** – The West Bengal education system is facing a major crisis after the Supreme Court cancelled the appointments of 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff on Thursday. The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) announced Friday that it cannot complete a new recruitment process within the three-month timeframe mandated by the court.
The Supreme Court’s order stated that “non-tainted” candidates from the 2016 recruitment process, which involved over 26 lakh applicants, can reapply to their respective departments within three months. The court found widespread irregularities, describing the selection process as “intentionally compromised” due to illegalities. The WBSSC chairperson, Siddhartha Majumdar, stated that the commission will seek legal advice on determining the eligibility of candidates for fresh examinations and whether new candidates can apply.
The ruling leaves approximately 25,000 school employees unable to report to work, creating significant strain on the state’s education system. West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu confirmed the state government will comply with the court’s directives, echoing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s support for the affected candidates. A meeting for affected teachers is scheduled for April 7th.
Opposition parties, including the BJP and CPI(M), blamed the Trinamool Congress government and the WBSSC for the irregularities and the inability to distinguish between “tainted” and “untainted” candidates. The situation highlights the scale of the problem, leaving the state scrambling to find a solution within the court-imposed deadline.
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