Rubbishing the allegation of the School Service Commission (SSC) candidates of not getting teaching jobs in schools in the State, Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said here on Thursday that they are not ‘qualified’ to be school teachers because they are ‘untrained’.
The president of Chatra Aikko Sangram Mancha, the platform of agitating SSC candidates, Pradyut Halder, trashed Mr. Chatterjee’s claim. He blamed the State government for the predicament of the candidates, who have been on a relay hunger strike for more than 30 days in the city.
Mr. Chatterjee said, “As per the present eligibly criteria for SSC candidates who have not received teachers’ training cannot be recruited through SSC.” Refuting another allegation of the agitating candidates that those who have been appointed as school teachers scored much less than what they did in SSC, he said, “These candidates have been appointed under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes’ quota.”
Urging the SSC candidates to withdraw their hunger strike, Mr. Chatterjee said the State government cannot increase the number of ‘released vacancies’ in government aided schools. Claiming that the government is ‘sympathetic’ towards the agitating candidates, he said ‘it cannot accept their demands’.
Taking pot shots at the opposition for trying to indulge in ‘politics’ over the issue, Mr. Chatterjee said those clamouring for the appointment of these candidates as school teachers should first know the eligibility criteria.
Talking to The Hindu, Mr. Halder said, “The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development had set a deadline till 2009 in this regard and it was extended several times on request of the State government. Even after the final deadline of March 31, many untrained candidates have been recruited.” He pointed out that the agitating candidates appeared in SSC in 2012 when teacher’s training was not compulsory to become school teachers. “How can the State government say such things now?” he said.
