Updated salary portal of Bengal govt schools continues showing names of 25,753 job losers

Kolkata, April 10 (IANS) The salary portal for the teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal Government schools continues to show on the payrolls the names of the 25,753 staff members whose jobs were terminated following an order by a Division Bench of the Supreme Court last week.

The current payroll list on the portal, which is updated between the first and 10th day of each month, remains the same as last month.

The individual school authorities have no role to play either in the addition or deletion of names from the portal, explained a headmaster of a state-run school in South 24 Parganas district.

“The authority of individual school management in the matter is just restricted to giving inputs on the portal on any change in the Provident Fund or Income Tax structure of any teaching or non-teaching staff attached to the school concerned.

“The individual school authorities are yet to receive any notification from the West Bengal School Service Commission regarding the fate of the staff attached to the respective schools whose jobs have been terminated following the apex court’s order,” confirmed the headmaster on strict condition of anonymity.

One reason why the payroll list in the said portal has remained unchanged could be that the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE), had earlier this week, approached the Supreme Court seeking a modification to the April 3 order by the apex court’s Division Bench.

The Division Bench of the Chief Justice of India (CJI), Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, upheld an earlier order by the Calcutta High Court’s Division Bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi last year, cancelling a total of 25,753 appointments made by the WBSSC.

In the petition, the WBBSE has made an appeal that till the time the fresh recruitment process, as directed by the court last week is completed, those candidates who have been identified as “genuine” should be allowed to work.

However, despite the payroll list in the portal remaining unchanged as of now, there is confusion among the job losers on two counts.

The first point of concern is whether the name continuing in the portal will ultimately end in credit of the current month’s salary to their respective bank accounts on the month-end.

The second confusion is that even if the current month’s salary is credited, how long would that continue for, because if the West Bengal government continues to pay salaries to the job losers it will tantamount to violation of the apex court order and hence contempt of court.

--IANS

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