New Portal Activated Amid Technical Struggles
The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) took emergency measures on Saturday by launching a new website to address the growing frustration among teaching job aspirants who have been unable to access their results through the commission's primary portal. This development comes just hours after the WBSSC released the much-anticipated results of the State Level Selection Test (SLST) for assistant teachers in classes 11-12 at 9:30 pm on Friday.
Massive Recruitment Drive Following Supreme Court Order
The newly declared results mark a significant milestone in West Bengal's education sector, paving the way for filling 12,514 assistant teacher vacancies in state-run and state-aided schools. This recruitment process holds particular importance as it represents the first examination conducted after the Supreme Court's landmark April 3 verdict, which cancelled the appointments of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff, declaring the entire 2016 recruitment process as vitiated and tainted.
An official familiar with the situation explained the technical challenges: A large number of candidates tried to log in simultaneously, and very few managed to have access. The unprecedented traffic from over 2.29 lakh candidates who wrote their papers on September 14 overwhelmed the system, prompting the commission to launch the alternative portal wbsschelpdesk.com while maintaining that the old site remains functional.
Candidates Voice Frustration Over Access Issues
Despite the commission's efforts, candidates continue to report significant difficulties. Subrata Biswas, one of the aspirants, voiced the collective frustration: Many candidates like me have been attempting to log in to the WBSSC website first and then to the newly launched helpdesk portal. But we haven't met with much success.
Chinmoy Mondal, an office bearer of the Deserving Teachers Rights Forum - an organization formed after the Supreme Court's verdict - reported similar struggles, noting his inability to access results despite multiple attempts since Thursday night. The commission official has urged candidates to try at intervals rather than incessantly to reduce server load.
The official expressed optimism about the candidate pool, stating: I am of the view that a large number of untainted candidates have cleared the exam. Here, untainted refers to candidates whose involvement in the compromised 2016 recruitment process has not been proven.
Successful candidates will now progress to the interview phase, which will assess:
- Pedagogical skills
- Subject knowledge
- Communication abilities
A final merit list will be prepared combining scores from both stages, followed by document verification where candidates must present original educational certificates, mark sheets, and valid identity proofs before final appointments are confirmed.
