Supreme Court order annulling 25,000 school jobs not to affect evaluation of HS exam papers: WB Council

Of those who lost their jobs following the court verdict, no more than 10-15 per cent evaluate higher secondary exam answer scripts, Council President Chiranjib Bhattacharya said.

Kolkata: West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education on Thursday said the invalidation of over 25,000 school jobs by the Supreme Court will not cause much disruption in evaluation of HS exam answer sheets and delay in publication of results at the plus two level.

Of those who lost their jobs following the court verdict, no more than 10-15 per cent evaluate higher secondary exam answer scripts, Council President Chiranjib Bhattacharya told PTI.

The Supreme Court on Thursday invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and other staff in state-run and state-aided schools, and termed the entire selection process "vitiated and tainted".

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld a Calcutta High Court verdict dated April 22, 2024, annulling the appointments.

Of the 40,000-50,000 examiners employed by the Council from among teachers in higher secondary schools, the number of invalidated examiners will be no more than 10-15 per cent and the council did not foresee any delay or disruption in the evaluation process, Bhattacharya said.

"We will take a call on the situation within two-three days after the ground-level impact assessment. However, since the number of candidates is around 5.9 lakhs, lower than that in earlier years, the 10-15 per cent drop in the number of examiners will not be any problem," he said.

The result of the higher secondary examination is scheduled to be published on May 2.

In 2024, 7,55,324 students appeared for the West Bengal Higher Secondary (Class 12) exam, while in 2023, 8,24,891 students appeared.

The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) Class 12 (Higher Secondary) exams for 2025 were conducted between March 3 and 18.