The second SLST (School Level Selection Test) administered by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) to hire assistant teachers to teach children in classes 11 and 12 in state-aided schools became a historic event in state education system and administration history when 93 percent of the students came to take the test.
The second SLST was conducted on Sunday and around 2.46 lakh candidates were registered and 93.09 percent of the candidates attended the examination indicating that there was a high attendance rate of aspirants throughout the country.
In excess of 13,000 external applicants were part of West Bengal, most of them (Uttar Pradesh and Bihar) emphasizing the interest of the essay and the scope throughout the country.
The recruitment drive is based on the April edict of the Supreme Court, which terminated the services of approximately 26,000 teachers and non-teaching personnel because of a corrupted selection procedure because of the 2016 recruitment fraud.
Strict security was implemented so as to guarantee the integrity of the examination in 478 centers around the state.
This was the first time when candidates were authorized to carry home carbon copies of their OMR sheets and the model answer sheet is soon to be posted on the SSC web site.
The authorities have given that upon the results announcement, a candidate will have five days to appeal his/her marks before the interview stage commences.
Today the WBSSC greeted several applause by the Education Minister of the state Bratya Basu who had stated that transparency and fairness were upheld in this recruitment round and that the process would help regain the confidence of the candidates in the system.
The SLST test is the biggest leap towards reviving some form of trust and transparency in the teacher recruitment process in West Bengal, although the appointments of the panel appointed by the previous panel was done away with by the Supreme Court due to procedural flaws.
Greater care is being taken to ensure that this process does not repeat the mistakes and malpractice of the past years and new provisions brought in to ensure comfort of the candidates and supervision.
Such a good attendance is an indicator that the recruitment in the schools of West Bengal has begun afresh and it reflects the determination of the government and the candidates to engage in fair and credible recruitment process.
