Candidates in West Bengal may be at their wits’ end trying to get selected as school teachers through the School Service Commission, but they must realise that the grass is not green on the other side. 

Getting a teaching job is difficult and trying. There have been allegations of irregularities and corruption against the recruiting body, that is the School Service Commission. Prior to the establishment of SSC, too, there were allegations against managing committees of several primary and secondary government and government-aided schools. There was hope this would change when the West Bengal SSC Bill was passed in the State Assembly in February 1997. The hope was that teachers of primary, secondary and high- er secondary schools would be selected by the SSC, and not by the managing committees.

In fact, it was the All-Bengal Teachers’ Association (ABTA) which had been demanding the formation of a Commission from the year 1982 in the wake of its Chinsurah conference. In large numbers, people associated with school education in the state welcomed the new Act, hoping it would put an end to malpractice. However, there were some who feared that it might instead lead to new complications. 

But the malaise was much deeper. From universities to colleges and schools, loyalty to the party in power prevailed over the formalities of recruitment. The result was a pathetic fall in educational standards at all levels ~ mediocre teachers producing unemployable pupils. It was like Gresham’s Law in education ~ the bad driving out the good. Better pay packets for teachers helped the party and its flock, but not the cause of education. 

The first Left government set a target to establish control on all primary schools in Bengal. They decided to bear the entire expenditure for running the institutions. The centralised education system also cast a shadow on the quality of learning. In 1977, there were around 40,941 primary schools, 3,201 junior high schools (till Class VIII), 3,661 secondary schools and 967 higher secondary schools. In 1982, each was brought under the government’s grant-in-aid scheme for providing full financial assistance for paying salaries to teachers. 

The government also abolished tuition fees for students till Class VIII studying in state-aided schools. The piper was to be paid. Government control resulted in the recruitment of party cadres in the schools, who, in turn, became the backbone of the party’s support base. Apparently, the move to have total control of all state-aided private schools was intended to increase enrollment by attracting more students from middle-class and lower-middle-class families. The political gain was, of course, in the background. Since the schools received full grants from the government, they were certain to follow its language policy and allow the teachers to join party unions. 

The efforts did pay off as the teachers’ unions in Ben- gal played a significant role in safeguarding the policies of the government in power. To take the teaching community into confidence, all-out efforts were made to increase the membership of the teachers’ bodies like the ABTA, ABPTA and the WBCUTA. The inclusion of teacher representatives in the executive committees of the state-run West Bengal Board of Secondary Education and West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education also speaks much of the situation. 

In the mid-1980s, the existing rules were amended to incorporate teacher representatives from among the ABTA members in the Madhyamik Board and HS Council. The numbers of teacher representatives in the managing committees of the schools, senate and syndicate were also enhanced. 

Some time ago, the West Bengal government had appointed a good number of women, who were above 45 years of age and were not educated beyond Class VIII, as primary school teachers. Of course, they happened to be staunch party supporters. This was a part of the much-trumpeted ” schools reaching out to students ” policy. The then school education minister also announced that 60,000 primary teachers would be recruited on a monthly salary of Rs 1,000 only. The minister clarified that these teachers would be free to engage themselves in any size business. Evidently, the scheme was envisaged to provide employment to party cadres with an eye on the following year’s Lok Sabha polls. 

It must be remembered that schools’ managing committees were elected by their teachers and non-teachers on the one hand and representatives elected by the guardians on the other. How- ever, primary education is directly controlled by the government. Over the years, elections to the governing bodies of many secondary schools have caused violent incidents. The government primary schools are directly administered by the District Primary Councils, largely government-controlled. Teachers at these primary schools have the liberty to be elected to the local Panchayats just as the teachers of higher levels of government institutions have the liberty to be elected to the Assembly or the Parliament. The nub of the matter is that political functionaries can also act as Panchayat functionaries. Hence, there is direct political interference. 

In the past, several managing committees in schools, reportedly, demanded huge sums of money from new appointees. In most cases, not the merit but their ability to pay the sum would become the chief criterion for securing jobs. The head of the institution had to succumb to the practice. Naturally, they became happy with the passing of the School Service Commission bill, but not without reservations. 

They wished the SSC would be allowed to function independently, without any political interference. But the young people of that time were incurably optimistic that with the Act they would secure jobs without encountering political hindrances. 

When SSC was vested with the right of selecting candidates, it was assumed that the power of the elected managing committees was also severely curtailed, and it would steer clear of bureaucratic red tape. But sadly, the Commission was not able to deliver the goods. It was not able to ensure the appointment of efficient teachers based on merit. There are charges of gross irregularities in the recruitment of teachers. Now, even a CBI enquiry has been instituted against alleged scams. 

There is little doubt that irregularities in the recruitment of teachers need to be corrected. The School Service Commission has a formidable task ahead. If it succeeds in stemming the corruption and irregularities, it will certainly earn appreciation from all quarters. The final test is always a test by fire.