Bengal Teacher Recruitment Row: Supreme Court Seeks Answers

West Bengal: The long-running case of 36,000 primary teachers recruitment in Bengal  has taken a fresh turn in the Supreme Court, bringing renewed uncertainty for teachers appointed through the 2016 recruitment process as well as job aspirants who have been waiting for a resolution. The apex court has now sought to verify whether all the teachers appointed through the recruitment had actually cleared the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET).

The latest development is significant because the case has already gone through several rounds of litigation and conflicting court orders. While the original dispute involved around 36,000 appointments, the number was subsequently revised to around 32,000 teachers.

The controversy stems from the recruitment process following the 2014 TET examination in West Bengal. Around 15 lakh candidates reportedly applied for the examination, while approximately 13 lakh appeared. Recruitment was subsequently conducted against more than 42,000 vacancies, with appointments beginning in 2017. Questions were later raised over irregularities in the recruitment process, including the eligibility and training status of some of those appointed.

In May 2023, a single bench of the Calcutta High Court ordered the cancellation of the appointments of around 36,000 primary teachers. The order was subsequently modified, bringing the number of affected teachers down to approximately 32,000. The decision triggered a prolonged legal battle, with the affected teachers challenging the cancellation and other parties seeking action against the disputed appointments.

The matter took another major turn in December 2025, when a Calcutta High Court division bench set aside the earlier cancellation order and allowed the teachers concerned to continue in service. The bench questioned whether the appointments of an entire group could be cancelled when it had not been established that every teacher covered by the order was involved in recruitment irregularities.

That decision was subsequently challenged before the Supreme Court by candidates who claimed that they had been eligible for appointment but were left out of the recruitment process. The apex court admitted the matter and has now focused attention on one of the most important questions in the case: whether all the teachers appointed through the 2016 recruitment had actually passed the mandatory TET.

During the latest proceedings, the Supreme Court directed the serving teachers involved in the case to submit affidavits along with relevant documents establishing their eligibility. They have been given four weeks to file their responses, after which the petitioners will have another four weeks to respond. The matter is expected to come up for further hearing in November.

Importantly, the latest Supreme Court direction does not mean that all 32,000 teachers have lost their jobs or that their appointments have been cancelled again. The court is currently seeking documents and verification before reaching a final conclusion. Any claim that the teachers have already been dismissed would therefore be premature.

For West Bengal teacher job aspirants, however, the development could prove important. The case is closely linked to candidates who allege that they were qualified but were denied appointments while others were recruited. If the Supreme Court finds serious discrepancies in TET qualification or other eligibility requirements, the findings could have implications for the disputed recruitment and the claims of candidates who were left out.

The case also highlights the uncertainty that has surrounded Bengal’s primary teacher recruitment for years. With the Calcutta High Court having previously issued conflicting orders and the matter now being examined by the country’s highest court, thousands of teachers and aspirants are once again waiting for clarity.

The immediate focus will now be on the documents submitted by the serving teachers and the Supreme Court’s scrutiny of their TET qualification. The November hearing could therefore become another crucial stage in the long-running West Bengal 36,000 primary teachers case.

Until the Supreme Court delivers a final judgment, however, the fate of the appointments remains unresolved. For teachers currently in service, job aspirants waiting for recruitment opportunities and candidates who claim they were unfairly excluded, the next few hearings could determine the direction of one of Bengal’s most closely watched teacher recruitment cases.