Kolkata, July 25 -- The state School Education Department has constituted a state-level Screening Committee to verify the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) credentials of ad hoc contractual teachers working as special educators across Bengal, in compliance with a Supreme Court directive issued on March 7, 2025. These Special Educators, who are currently engaged in teaching children with special needs, will now be assessed to ensure their qualifications conform to RCI norms.
According to the department's notification, the committee will comprise the principal secretary of the School Education department, the state commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (appointed under Section 79 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016), and a nominee of the RCI with relevant expertise. In the absence of a disability commissioner in any state, the role will be assumed by the law secretary or legal representative of that state.
The first meeting of the Screening Committee is scheduled for July 30 at 11 am in the office chamber of the principal secretary at Bikash Bhavan. The RCI has been formally requested to nominate a qualified representative to attend the meeting, either in person or through virtual mode. As part of the process, the Paschim Banga Samagra Shiksha Mission (PBSSM), under the School Education department, has directed all 24 educational districts to issue certificates for every special educator working within their jurisdiction. District project officers have been instructed to compile and submit the relevant data in both signed hard copy and digital formats.
Special educators have been asked to keep ready two sets of self-attested photocopies of essential documents, including their RCI qualification certificates, updated RCI registration, academic records, age proof, Aadhaar card, engagement letter issued by the district and two recent passport-sized coloured photographs.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.