West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu held a meeting on Monday to address the concerns of candidates who qualified for the State Level Selection Test (SLST) conducted by the state school service commission. During the meeting at the state education headquarters, Basu listened to representatives of SLST candidates, numbering around 1,000, who have been sitting in an open field near Red Road for over a year. The candidates expressed their frustration over the absence of any notification from the higher education department regarding their appointments at state-run or state-aided schools.

In response to these concerns, Minister Basu announced that the state government would soon engage in discussions with the advocate general, Kishore Dutta, to seek legal guidance on resolving the issue. He mentioned that the upcoming meeting would include the education secretary, heads of state recruitment panels, and TMC leader Kunal Ghosh, who has been actively involved in finding a resolution for the candidates.

Minister Basu acknowledged that due to several litigations and stay orders on recruitment notices in recent times, the government cannot proceed independently in this matter. Legal opinions must be sought before taking any initiatives for the candidates aspiring for teaching jobs. The minister had previously met SLST candidates on February 29, where he assured them of the government’s efforts to address the issue.

Earlier, on February 21, over 100 SLST candidates had staged a demonstration near Bikash Bhavan by smearing their faces with black tar to draw attention to their plight and demand a resolution to their prolonged predicament.

Source: PTI

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