West Bengal SSC Initiates Fresh Teacher Recruitment Following Supreme Court Mandate

Kolkata, April 21, 2025 — In a major development following the Supreme Court’s directives, the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) has officially begun a fresh recruitment process for school teachers in state-run and state-aided secondary and higher secondary schools. The move comes after the apex court’s April 17 order, which mandates the initiation of the recruitment process by May 31 and its completion by December 31, 2025.

New Recruitment Framework Begins Amid Hopes for Transparency

An official from the Commission confirmed that the process began on Friday, April 19, signaling a significant administrative reset after the court nullified the controversial SSC 2016 recruitment over procedural and legal irregularities. A total of 25,753 appointments — including teachers and non-teaching staff — were invalidated by the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling on April 3, describing the process as “vitiated and tainted.”

However, in a relief to many, the Supreme Court extended the services of those teachers found untainted by the CBI investigation till December 31.

Proposed Reforms: OMR Copies, Model Answer Keys

As part of its renewed commitment to transparency and fairness, the Commission is considering implementing several reform measures:

• Providing candidates with copies of their OMR sheets after the exam

• Uploading model answer keys before result declaration

• Allowing score challenges and corrections based on answer discrepancies

“These steps, however, will be finalized after receiving necessary approvals from the state government,” the official added.

Background: Fallout of the SSC 2016 Recruitment Scam

The WBSSC has been under intense legal and public scrutiny since the SSC recruitment scam came to light. Investigations by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) revealed widespread irregularities and manipulation in the recruitment of school staff, which eventually led to the Supreme Court scrapping thousands of appointments made under the 2016 panel.

Candidates Await Clarity and Fair Opportunity

The fresh recruitment process offers hope for thousands of legitimate aspirants who had been caught in the administrative and legal quagmire. Education stakeholders and civil society groups have hailed the Supreme Court’s intervention and called for clean, merit-based recruitment practices moving forward.

With tight deadlines and national attention, the WBSSC is now under pressure to not just conduct exams efficiently, but to rebuild public trust in the education system.