Page 26 - EW June 2023

Education News

not improved from pre-Covid levels, terjee; former president
in fact they have declined as the lat- of WBBSE, Kalyanmoy
est Annual Status of Education Re- Ganguly, Shanti Prasad
port 2022 reveals. So, how can Kalika Sinha, former adviser
Chetarike be a success?” queries Prof. to West Bengal School
Seetharamu. Service Commission
According to Seetharamu, the new (WBSSC) among oth-
Congress government should make ers including Subiresh
upgradration of infrastructure and Bhattacharya, a youth
teaching-learning standards in public wing leader of the ruling
schools its #1 priority. “Providing in- Trinamool Congress
frastructure and basic facilities such (TMC). Moreover, a web
as drinking water, toilets, should be of companies through
the government’s top priority. If chil- which the cash flow was
dren don’t even have access to wa- Protesting aspirant teachers in Kolkata managed came under the
ter and toilets, how can government scanner of the Central in-
claim success? Few years ago, I helped primary schools, and uncovered evi- vestigative agencies following which
EducationWorld prepare a financial dence of administrative malfeasance, ED sleuths provisionally attached
calculus advising government how on May 12, ordered cancellation of properties of the accused valued at
to raise resources to provide every appointment of 32,000 candidates Rs.103.10 crore.
public school with a library, labora- recruited as teachers on the basis of t is pertinent to note that in West
tory and lavatories. I advise the new Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) 2014 IBengal where overt and disguised
government to study it carefully,” he results. According to the court, there unemployment is rife with 7.6 mil-
says. Moreover for several years, sub- was evidence of massive corruption lion registered unemployed youth,
sequent to presentation of the Union in the interview process and in many and small and medium-scale indus-
Budget, EducationWorld has been cases, the mandatory aptitude test try salaries are rock-bottom, teaching
presenting a plan for the Central gov- wasn’t conducted. jobs in government schools which
ernment to raise Rs.7 lakh crore in one While ordering cancellation of pay Rs.33,000 per month-plus are
year for distribution among states, to 32,000 appointments, Justice Gan- highly prized. Families desperate for
no avail. gopadhyay directed the West Bengal sons and daughters to be employed
Unfortunately, the initial state- Board of Secondary Education as teachers in government-run
ments of education ministers of the (WBBSE) to immediately arrange for schools often sell property and/or
new government — centred on re- recruitment of eligible candidates take loans to pay upto Rs.20 lakh as
writing school textbooks to wipe out — from TET 2014 panel as well as bribes to government officials to land
hindutva bias of the previous BJP gov- from the 150,000 fresh candidates these jobs. With appointees hav-
ernment and scrapping implementa- who qualified in TET 2022, held on ing lost their jobs after paying hefty
tion of the NEP 2020 — don’t provide December 11 after a gap of five years amounts as bribes to ruling party
much hope of addressing the funda- — within three months. He also ruled leaders, the high court judgement is
mental problems confronting children that the 32,000 illegally appointed bad news for TMC and chief minister
from bottom-of-pyramid households teachers can continue to work for the Mamata Banerjee, now serving her
who have no option but to attend free- next four months, but will receive the third term in office.
of-charge government schools. salary of para teachers. According to informed academ-
Reshma Ravishanker (Bengaluru) Since May 18, 2022, after Jus- ics, the declining learning standards
tice Gangopadhyay ordered a CBI of primary children has a direct link
WEST BENGAL investigation into the TET scam, with the TMC government’s ill-
Downward spiral in which aspiring primary school advised utshoshree (‘origin’) teacher
transfer policy launched by chief
teachers paid an estimated Rs.10-20
lakh to middlemen, began unfolding, minister Mamata Banerjee on August
single judge bench of justice threads of corruption started leading 2, 2021. This populist policy enter-
Abhijit Gangopadhyay of Cal- to top state government ministers. In tains teachers’ request for return to
A cutta High Court currently the past one year, the Enforcement cities where they were first recruited,
hearing the multi-crore school jobs Directorate, a financial frauds inves- emptying out rural schools. Because
scam in West Bengal, which exposed tigation unit of the Central govern- of this policy, many rural schools are
dire irregularities in appointment ment, and CBI have arrested former unable to admit students in higher
of teachers in 82,748 government education minister Partha Chat- secondary (classes XI and XII), as

26 EDUCATIONWORLD JUNE 2023