The Calcutta High Court has postponed its decision regarding the allocation of marks for teaching experience in the School Level Selection Test (SLST) 2025, choosing to await guidance from the Supreme Court on this contentious issue.
Court Awaits Supreme Court Direction
Justice Amrita Sinha's bench delivered the order on Thursday after learning that the Supreme Court has already scheduled hearings on the matter for November 24 and 26, 2025. The High Court acknowledged that the fundamental question of whether teaching experience marks should be awarded at all must first be resolved by the apex court.
The legal proceedings were initiated in response to a petition challenging the stage at which the 10 marks designated for 'teaching experience' should be incorporated into the selection process. The petitioners argued that these marks should only be added during the final merit list compilation, not before candidates are shortlisted for interviews.
Conflicting Positions on Marks Allocation
The West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) maintained its position that the experience marks should be included while preparing the initial list of eligible candidates. This stance has sparked significant controversy among fresh candidates who believe the current approach disadvantages them.
The SLST-2 examination was conducted by the state SSC in September 2025, following the Supreme Court's earlier decision to scrap the entire 2016 teachers recruitment panel due to widespread corruption allegations.
Widespread Protests and Future Implications
The publication of written test results and interview calls for classes 11-12 recruitment earlier this month triggered large-scale protests. Fresh candidates took to the streets, alleging that the SSC's method of granting experience marks to the now-unemployed but untainted 2016 candidates was unfair and undermined their qualification chances for the next stage.
Meanwhile, the SSC has yet to publish results for teachers' recruitment to classes 9-10, where it is expected to follow the same marking pattern unless directed otherwise by the courts.
Justice Sinha's order also clarified that petitioners are free to approach the Supreme Court for additional relief as necessary. The High Court has scheduled the next hearing in this matter for November 28, 2025, following the Supreme Court's deliberations on the related issue.
