WBSSC publishes SLST results; fresh teacher appointments likely by December

Kolkata: Bringing relief to thousands of teaching job aspirants, including those whose earlier appointments were invalidated by a Supreme Court order, the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) released the results of the State Level Selection Test (SLST) for assistant teachers in classes 11-12.

The results, uploaded on the commission’s portal on Friday evening, pave the way for filling up around 13,000 assistant teacher vacancies in state-run and state-aided schools.

Expressing satisfaction over the development, Education Minister Bratya Basu said the examination was conducted in a transparent manner, bringing new hope to thousands of candidates.

"Made possible due to the initiative of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the result is not just an administrative step but will materialise the possibility of new recruitment by December," he said in a post on X, pledging the support of the state to make every future step transparent and bound by rules.

Candidates who cleared the test will advance to the interview process, which evaluates pedagogical skills, subject knowledge, and communication abilities — essential competencies for effective teaching.

Following the interviews, a final merit list will be prepared based on combined scores from both stages. Successful candidates will then undergo document verification, presenting original educational certificates, mark sheets, and valid identity proofs before final appointments are confirmed.

Over 2.29 lakh candidates wrote the papers on September 14.

A senior WBSSC official said it was not immediately possible to ascertain how many among the 26,000 teachers who lost their jobs after the Supreme Court’s April 1 verdict had qualified in the new test.

"A large number of untainted candidates are expected to have cleared the exam," the official added.