Bengal: New merit list for 12,445 Higher Secondary teacher posts to be released soon; decision follows changes to OBC quota..

A senior official stated on Wednesday that the West Bengal Central School Service Commission (SSC) may soon release a new merit list for the recruitment of higher secondary teachers. This decision follows changes made by the state government to OBC reservation rules.

The recruitment drive involves 12,445 vacant posts. The government has decided to reduce the OBC reservation quota in the recruitment process from 17 percent to 7 percent. Preparations are now underway to issue a new merit list.

**New Merit List Could Alter Candidate Rankings**

The Commission is reviewing the merit list issued on January 21, which was originally prepared under the reservation framework implemented by the previous TMC government.

According to Commission sources, the previous committee had recommended 3,586 candidates for appointment. The new evaluation could lead to changes in the candidacy and ranking of some individuals included in the earlier list.

Counseling for candidates who had already undergone interviews was halted on August 13; the process is expected to resume once the new merit list is released.

The Commission is working expeditiously to meet the recruitment timeline. An SSC official noted that the Supreme Court has directed the process to be completed by May 31, 2027, and the SSC aims to fast-track the remaining stages after revising the merit list.

**Secondary Teacher Recruitment Shortlist Expected in September**

As part of the revision, candidates were asked last month to update their OBC sub-category details on the Commission's portal. It is expected that the Commission will adopt a similar procedure for secondary school teaching recruitment, which involves 23,209 vacant posts.

Candidates who passed the selection examination held last September will be considered for interviews under the revised reservation framework. The official stated that the shortlist of candidates for secondary-level recruitment interviews is likely to be released by the third week of September.

Recruitment panel to be reviewed following changes to OBC reservation
The recruitment process was originally initiated under a provision for 17% OBC reservation. A notification issued by the then state government on June 10, 2025, had fixed the reservation at 10% for OBC-A and 7% for OBC-B, covering 140 backward castes. Applications for approximately 35,000 secondary and higher secondary teaching vacancies opened on June 16, 2025, incorporating this 17% quota into the recruitment process.

An official stated that West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had announced in May of this year that the OBC reservation for 66 communities would be revised to a specific percentage. Due to this change in the reservation structure, the commission had to review the recruitment panel and reschedule the subsequent interviews and counseling sessions.

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