The state government’s move to recruit 56,000 primary teachers has become a new flash point between the Centre and the West Bengal government.

A day after Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal expressed his disappointment over Left Front government’s decision to make Madhyamik as the minimum eligibility criteria for recruiting primary teachers and said that it would affect the quality of basic education in the state, the Left Front government hit back saying it is more concerned about the interest of the millions of children studying in government primary schools across the state.

“We are not going to rethink on the recruitment issue on the basis of the statement of one individual where the interest of millions of students is involved,” state school education minister Partha De told mediapersons here on Friday.

De added that no one is bothered about the rights of children studying in primary schools, which are increasingly becoming a single-teacher school or schools without any teacher.

“Since we cannot do anything with the training for primary teachers, which is the jurisdiction of the Centre, similarly the recruitment of primary teachers is our right,” the minister said.

If the difference in the qualification of primary teachers — in the rest of the country the minimum eligibility criteria is 10+2 with 50 per cent marks — will create problems in future, the minister said, “If the Centre wants then there will be bottlenecks.”

“We are not doing anything illegal. Who will do the work for 56,000 teachers in the state? Will people come from Delhi?” the minister said.

... contd.