Kolkata, Oct 1 (IANS) State School Education Minister Deepak Barman on Thursday said the stalled primary school teacher recruitment process would be completed soon.
He made the remarks at a press conference at Bikash Bhaban. The Minister also said the next recruitment process would begin once the current process was completed.
He said, “The Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) will be held every year like Durga Puja, Lakshmi Puja and Saraswati Puja.”
The last Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) for recruiting primary school teachers was held in 2022. That recruitment process has not yet been completed.
Under pressure from several movements, the Trinamool Congress government published the recruitment notification for candidates who passed the TET in 2022 on September 25, 2025. However, even after a year, the recruitment process could not be started.
After the notification was published in September 2025, interviews started on December 31.
District-wise interviews began in phases from December last year to recruit 13,421 people. The first four rounds of interviews were conducted.
Thereafter, on February 27, the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) issued a notification, and interviews for Nadia, Purulia, Bankura, Alipurduar, South Dinajpur, Malda, West Burdwan and Birbhum districts started in the fifth to tenth phases.
Meanwhile, interviews for Nadia district in the fifth phase ended on March 19.
Although interviews for Purulia district in the sixth phase started on March 23, the Assembly election schedule had already been announced. As a result, questions arose over whether interviews could be conducted during that period.
Subsequently, in April, the WBBPE said the Election Commission had written to the School Education Department on March 27 seeking information on the interview process for recruiting primary school teachers.
That letter reached the board on March 30, and the board provided the details on the same day. It also explained that the interview process continued even after the election had been announced.
However, the primary education board suspended the interview process on April 1.
Thereafter, the Assembly elections were held, and a new government was formed. However, the interviews have not resumed yet, triggering fresh debate.
When asked about the issue, the Minister said the primary recruitment process underway would be completed quickly and that the government would move on to the next recruitment exercise.
“Once this recruitment is completed, the TET will be held again based on the vacancies that are created. I have said many times, and I am saying again, TET will be held every year like Durga Puja, Lakshmi Puja and Saraswati Puja,” he said.
Meanwhile, the State Minister said mid-day meals should not be discontinued in any school in the state.
A few days ago, reports emerged that mid-day meals had been stopped at a school in the Garia area on the outskirts of Kolkata. Allegations suggested the scheme had been halted due to a lack of funds.
Thereafter, the administration intervened and immediately arranged mid-day meals through the district administration.
However, several schools in the state still face allegations of various problems related to mid-day meals.
Deepak Barman said, “We have allocated the funds. The West Bengal government is giving great importance to the PM Poshan scheme.”
–IANS
