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three months. Rabindranath Tagore’s ghost may well
Two days later on April 23, the be turning in its grave.
state government moved the Su- Baishali Mukherjee (Kolkata)
preme Court contending that the high
court’s cancellation of 25,753 teacher TAMIL NADU
appointments would create a huge
vacuum in government schools in the Stern child protection
coming academic year. After an urgent
hearing on May 7, the apex court has directive
stayed the Calcutta high court’s April
21 order while permitting a CBI probe espite a plethora of legisla-
against government officials. tion including the Indian
eanwhile, over 200 candidates DPenal Code 1860, Juve-
Mwho had written and passed nile Justice (Care & Protection of
TET 2014 and TET 2016 but hadn’t re- Children) Act, 2000 and the RTE
ceived appointment letters, have been Mamata Banerjee: credibility challenge Act, 2009 expressly prohibiting
staging protests before Mahatma Gan- corporal punishment of children,
dhi’s statue in Esplanade in Kolkata’s required educational qualifications the ancient tradition of teachers
central business district since 2019. were selected. Now the high court’s inflicting physical punishment for
They are protesting the court’s order sweeping April 21 ruling on TET 2016 real and imagined misbehaviour is
directing new TET exams as they have has aroused apprehension about can- widespread in India’s 1.60 million
become age ineligible (40 years) to cellation of the entire cohort of CSC schools. Reports of teachers inflict-
write TET again. 2018 appointees. ing cruel and unusual punishment on
West Bengal’s government schools With teacher recruitment stalled, hapless children are commonplace
teacher recruitment and appointment an estimated 3.5 lakh teaching posi- in daily newspapers. The majority of
imbroglio has a long back story. In tions in West Bengal’s 82,748 govern- school teachers seem unaware that
May, 2022, a single bench of the high ment schools are vacant, particularly s.17 of the Right of Children to Free
court ordered a CBI investigation into in rural Bengal which is suffering a se- & Compulsory Education (RTE) Act,
alleged irregularities in the recruit- vere shortage of teachers. The latest 2009, expressly prohibits all corpo-
ment process following writ petitions Annual Status of Education Report ral punishment — and mental cruelty
filed by some candidates who passed (ASER) 2023 paints a grim picture of — to children.
TET 2016 but were not recruited. On primary education in the state with 79 On April 25, Justice S.M.
July 23, 2022, CBI arrested educa- percent of 14-18 year-olds unable to Subramaniam of the Madras high
tion minister Partha Chatterjee, solve simple 3-digit by 1-digit division court issued an unambiguous direc-
who during a long innings as educa- sums, and 61 percent of 14-18 year- tive to the Tamil Nadu state govern-
tion minister (2014-21) had presided olds unable to read simple sentences ment to implement the Guidelines
over SSC. Chatterjee’s arrest after a in English, the link language of India. for Elimination of Corporal Punish-
huge stash of Rs.100 crore was found “The SSC 2016 teachers’ appoint- ment in Schools (GECP) framed
in the flat of his mistress, was followed ment cancellation poses a serious by the Delhi-based National Com-
by a spate of arrests of top officials in- challenge to chief minister Banerjee’s mission for the Protection of Child
volved in the SSC recruitment process. credibility while reinforcing percep- Rights (NCPCR) to safeguard the
As if the scam in recruiting school tions of corruption and misgover- physical and mental health and well-
teachers isn’t enough, 50,908 candi- nance. This may well affect voter loy- being of 5.26 million children across
dates who wrote the College Service alty, more so with opposition parties the state’s 68,000 government and
Commission (CSC) test in 2018 but likely to exploit the issue to discredit private schools.
didn’t qualify, moved the Calcutta TMC particularly in constituencies The court directed the state gov-
high court in 2020 alleging massive where the SSC recruitment contro- ernment to disseminate the guide-
irregularities in the selection process. versy resonates with voters,” says lines to all educational institutions
They alleged that in exchange for Suman Sengupta, a well-known and District Educational Authori-
bribes aggregating Rs.3,000-4,000 newspaper columnist and social ac- ties to “sensitise school authori-
crore, those with poor marks in writ- tivist. ties” about protection of children’s
ten tests were given extra marks in With West Bengal which has pro- physical and mental health; conduct
interviews to enable them to qualify duced a large number of eminent lit- seminars and awareness camps to
as college lecturers. Moreover, age in- terateurs, economists and intellectu- effectively implement NCPCR guide-
eligible candidates and those without als having sunk so low, Nobel laureate lines, and initiate prompt action

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