On Monday, Subrata Ghosh, the secretary of the state secondary education board, submitted an affidavit in the high court, expressing regret for not complying with a previous court order, according to a report by Telegraph. This action followed a summons from Justice Biswajit Basu.
Two years ago, Uma Pramanik, the daughter of a deceased schoolteacher in Bankura, sought a job on compassionate grounds from the school service commission (SSC). The SSC, in response to her plea, recommended on September 15, 2021, that Uma be appointed as a non-teaching employee at Shaltora Girls School in Bankura.
Despite the commission's recommendation, the board had not provided Uma with an appointment. Consequently, Uma approached Justice Basu's court last year, prompting the judge to order the board to act immediately on the SSC's recommendation.
During Monday's proceedings in Justice Basu's court, Uma's counsel pointed out that, despite the court's directive, the board had failed to offer the job to his client. Responding to this, Justice Basu issued an order summoning the board secretary to appear before him on Tuesday. Shortly after, the board's counsel presented an affidavit to the judge.
In the affidavit, the board secretary apologized for not adhering to the court order and informed the court that departmental proceedings had commenced against the board employees responsible for the non-compliance.
Accepting the letter of apology, Justice Basu directed the board secretary to collaborate with the education department's representatives and the commission to determine the number of vacant teaching positions in secondary schools. The judge highlighted the pending cases of death-in-harness and instructed a comprehensive assessment of the situation.
An official from the education board noted that several cases related to death-in-harness were pending. An SSC official highlighted the board's earlier claim of not receiving any recommendation letter from the commission, which was refuted by the regional office in Bankura. The court accused the board secretary of misleading the court, and the SSC official submitted copies of the recommendation to the court.
