Kolkata, April 7 -- The Calcutta High Court on Monday proposed stopping the salaries of 313 teachers in government aided schools under GTA whose appointments couldn't be justified by the state.
The bench of Justice Biswajit Basu on Monday said that salaries of these 313 teachers whose appointments lack justification be stopped. Such appointments were allegedly made violating due procedure of law.
The state, though defended the approval of 439 teachers, citing authorisation from the state, could not do the same for the 313 teachers concerned. The GTA in its report of April 2024 disclosed details of those appointments, revealing alleged irregularities. The report had cited that most of the appointed teachers lacked a B.Ed degree, an essential qualification for teaching in secondary and higher secondary schools.
It was learnt that an order from the Department of Education of the Darjeeling Hill Council, effective in 2019, prohibited school managing committees from appointing voluntary teachers without written approval from the School Education Department. The appointments of the 313 teachers appear to contravene this directive.
The court asked why should the exchequer take the burden of salaries being paid to teachers who were appointed in an irregular manner. The state was asked whether fresh recruitment can be made for the hill schools. The court told the state to find out modalities.
The CID West Bengal also filed a status report. The Advocate General sought time until the next hearing (Thursday) to provide instructions on this matter.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.