School Recruitment Scam Is Having Impact On Bengalee Teachers In Assam

KOLKATA: In Assam, the job security of Bengali teachers working in many schools has been endangered by the circulation of widespread reports of organised corruption in the state Education sector of West Bengal. Many of these teachers—- local Assam media estimates put their number in hundreds— are degree holders from different educational institutions in Bengal.

The Assam Government is about to launch a probe shortly, to check (a) the authenticity of their claimed educational qualifications and (b) the validity of their various certificates and other documents. This decision comes in the wake of recent mass media exposure of the illegal operations of a well organised politically- protected job racket in Bengal, that has attracted nation-wide attention. Assam Chief Minister Mr Himanta Biswa Sarma, has lent his personal imprimatur to the move.

While Bengal-based Trinamool Congress(TMC) leaders declined comments on the issue, observers feel that some kind of political reaction in Bengal is sure to follow in the long run. The ruling TMC has been facing sustained attacks from opposition parties like the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP), Congress(INC) and the CPI(M)-led Left Front, for the active involvement of its leaders with the reported corruption.

In particular, recent official inquiries ordered by the Calcutta High Court in numerous cases relating to the massive bribery and other financial corruption involving hundreds of crores of rupees, have badly dented the ruling TMC’s image. Its position has been further compromised by the arrest of high profile former Ministers, MLAs, and other functionaries in connection with the Job racket.

In simple terms, a joint cabal of local TMC activists, supported by a section of high officials, MLAs and Ministers, have systematically tampered with mark sheets, certificates, interview documents etc to keep out thousands of qualified male and female applicants for teaching jobs, to ease the illegal entry of mostly barely literate persons, following illegal payments running into lakhs of rupees in each case!

Hundreds of such utterly unfit ‘teachers’ have lost their jobs in recent times, but eventually the number of dismissals may exceed several thousands.

This dubious ‘salvage’ operation has continued despite the continuous protests and demonstrations held by qualified male and female job seekers for years in Kolkata and various parts of Bengal, without the slightest response/apology from the indifferent TMC leadership.

It remains to be seen whether this somewhat sensitive matter, as Bengali – origin teachers employed in primary and secondary level schools in Assam come under official pressure, TMC leaders initiate some kind of political contact with the ruling BJP government in Assam. Both Mr. Sarma and Ms Banerjee, are shrewd political leaders and enjoy near total powers to run the parties they head.

According to a leading Assam daily, the Chief minister’s office(CMO) in Assam had been inundated with scores of complaints about the recruitment of teachers in Government schools in 2019.

Allegations of widespread corruption and bribery had been made about appointees who claimed to be B-ED or DL-ED degree holders. There were more complaints about DL-ED passed teachers. Also, there were more complaints about the unusually high number of people who claimed to have secured over 95/96% of aggregate marks.

However, there can still be no denying that Mr Sarma has been particularly critical about the degree holders from West Bengal Universities and institutions. In recent meetings with state education department officials, including Secretaries, Directors and School Inspectors, his message as reported by the local media, was significant:

According to one version, the Assam Chief Minister had said that he had no comments about the Universities of West Bengal. But he had some doubts about people who claimed to have secured high marks exceeding 90% of the aggregate from such universities. Their records must be scrutinised thoroughly, following the complaints received so far, especially from Barpeta, Goalpara and Dhubri areas.

There has been no reaction so far from TMC circles in Assam about this.(IPA Service)