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In a landmark ruling which is a strong statement against corruption in government recruitments, India's Supreme Court has upheld the Calcutta High Court ruling annulling the appointments of over 25,000 teachers and non-teaching employees of the West Bengal government. The highest court has held the entire selection process in question to be "tainted beyond resolution," thereby making the appointments made thereunder void ab initio.

The case stems from a string of anomalies and suspected collusion during the process of recruitment done by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC). The scandal that took years to be investigated involved unlawful recruitment, bogus documents, and systematic abuse of power within the education recruitment process of the state. The Supreme Court ruling is a milestone in bringing integrity back to the hiring process but leaves in its trail professional and personal upheaval for thousands of individuals.

The court has categorized the affected applicants into three groups:

Tainted Officials: These officials were found to have taken their appointments through deceptive means or by evading merit. The Supreme Court ordered them to be removed from service forthwith and requested them to refund the salaries paid to them during their service tenure. This group is said to have directly benefited from corruption and is being made accountable.

Untainted Candidates – Terminated: These fall under the group of those who might not have directly participated in malpractice but were included in the tainted recruitment process anyway. Their appointments are also revoked, although the court has given them a reprieve by not requesting that they return their salaries. They are disqualified for being caught in a process that had failed at a systemic level even though they were individually qualified.

Untainted Contenders in Other Branches: The third category includes untainted contenders who had been hired for other posts outside the WBSSC teacher recruitment. Such persons have been given the opportunity to reapply for their original posts in a legal process, with a indicated hope of possible reinstatement on evidence of their merit in an open, new procedure.

The ruling is a huge setback for the West Bengal government, which has been accused of handling the recruitment scam. The ruling not only reinforces the need for transparent recruitment but also the judiciary's determination to uphold fairness and integrity in public service.

But even as the ruling attempts to correct a systemically rooted wrong, it also raises reason for immense alarm about the futures of thousands of individuals—many of whom had structured their lives around these labor agreements. The sudden deprivation of income will necessarily cause socio-economic harm to innumerable households.

In the wake of the judgment, calls are being made for the state to start a fresh and transparent recruitment process, giving clean applicants a level playing field to resume their work. The job now is to re-establish the faith of applicants and the general public in the education system of West Bengal.

This ruling is a stern warning: when corruption infects public institutions, the damage spreads much farther than the guilty—oftentimes involving the innocent too.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Thursday that summer holidays in schools in West Bengal will start earlier than planned, due to the increasing temperature throughout the state. Addressing the media at the state secretariat, Nabanna, Banerjee said that the Education Department will make a formal notification bringing forward the beginning of the summer holidays to April 30, 2025, for primary, secondary, and higher secondary schools.

Summer holidays generally start in the second week of May, with the academic year initially setting May 9 as the opening date this year. The rescheduling, however, has been done as a precautionary step because of the prevailing heatwave-like situation in some districts.

Banerjee also pointed out that with Sundays and other holidays added, the students will have about 12 to 13 days off before the break actually starts. She further stated that the Education Department would soon bring out detailed instructions on how the new schedule should be implemented by the schools.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that Kolkata saw its maximum temperature reach 34.4°C on Thursday. As the temperatures have risen slowly with no indications of rainfall or seasonal Kalbaishakhi (Norwester) in sight, the scenario has alarmed people all over the state.

Some of the districts, Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram, East and West Medinipur, Howrah, Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, and South 24 Parganas, had previously made pleas to modify school timings in the face of the heat. The said districts had petitioned the Primary Education Board, suggesting morning classes for primary pupils in a bid to lower exposure to the sun during ordinary school time.

The move to shift the summer vacation is intended to protect students' health and welfare amidst increasing temperatures throughout West Bengal.

An early morning tragedy was seen on Wednesday in the Mayurbhanj district when a Karanjia private school bus carrying students to school turned over. The mishap injured more than 10 children and the driver, which resulted in instant rescue efforts by locals.

The accident took place on the Bhaunra section of the Karanjia-Chadheibhol road when the bus is reported to have lost its grip and overturned. Witnesses described a horror-stricken scene, students trapped inside the overturned bus, crying, while some attempted to crawl out. The public and passers-by rushed to the scene of the accident, rescuing the injured from the wreckage and taking them to the nearest hospital for medical attention. Despite the fact that some students were seriously injured, no fatalities have been reported yet, according to officials.

The accident has again thrown a spotlight on the safety of school transport within the region. The infamous Karanjia-Chadheibhol road with its deplorable state and narrow width has been the bane of drivers for years. Locals have been complaining about the poor condition of the road for years, requesting the authorities to make an intervention. This accident has also further raised the need for a speedy solution on the roads and stricter measures on safety checks of buses that are used to transport children.

The government has ordered an investigation into the accident, and likely driver negligence is being indicated as a causative factor. The investigators want to know if speed, technical malfunction, or road condition was the causative factor of the accident. The school administration has remained quiet thus far, but angry parents and citizens are demanding explanations and an extensive audit of school transport safety protocols.

Meanwhile, as the wounded pupils and the driver receive treatment, their families and society pin medical teams against the wall, questioning what state they are in. The crash has stirred up vicious controversy about enforcement of traffic regulation on road safety, better road infrastructure, and stricter regulation of school transport within the country.

With the authorities still investigating, citizens are praying that this tragic accident would be enough to jolt the administration into realizing the importance of putting long-overdue safety measures into place. The priority now is to ensure that such accidents do not happen again in the future, prioritizing the safety of young schoolchildren traveling to school every day.

A suggestion to relax the minimum age for Class I admissions in Karnataka has met intense resistance from teachers and school bodies in the state. A formal letter dated March 31 addressed to Chief Secretary Dr Shalini Rajneesh was written by Associated Managements of Schools in Karnataka (KAMS) ,expressing worries regarding the possibility of reducing the age of admission below six years.

Since 2020, Karnataka has made it necessary for children to be six years of age to join Class I, concurring with national policies established by the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009. The policy also concurs with norms practiced in fourteen other states and Union Territories (UTs) such as Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Kerala.

Nonetheless, a recent proposal seeks to relax this criterion, which will enable younger children to begin formal schooling earlier.

The letter, sent on behalf of various school communities, argues that lowering the age limit could have detrimental effects on child development and learning outcomes. It highlights that the existing rule, though initially challenging for parents and institutions, has been successfully implemented over the past three years.

The letter further underscores that national educational policies, such as the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, endorse formalised early childhood learning. The NEP (National Education Policy) suggests three years of pre-primary education prior to joining Class I, thereby making sure students have developed adequate cognitive and social abilities prior to entering formal school.

Education experts warn that premature admission into Class I might result in additional academic stress to children who are not developmentally prepared yet for formal education.

If Karnataka relaxes the age of admission, it may result in a mismatch with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), and other state boards, confusing parents and students who shift between different education systems. Most states have already made the six-year entry age uniform following instructions from the Union Ministry of Education.

KAMS also said that going back on the present policy would be against the efforts to standardise early childhood education throughout India.

The stakeholders are now pressuring the Karnataka government to re-examine the proposal and uphold the six-year age requirement.

A school headmaster in Andhra Pradesh has gone viral after he apologized to his students publicly in a strange yet heart-warming way—by performing sit-ups on stage. The touching moment was captured in a video shared by Andhra Pradesh's HRD and IT Minister, Nara Lokesh, and has since invoked a tempest of reactions online.

In the video, the headmaster, Chinta Ramana, speaks to a crowd at the school before falling down to perform sit-ups in front of his students. His action was a symbolic expression of regret, showing he was sorry he could not get them to do better academically as much as he wished. The event has sparked conversations on social media, with most praising his commitment and self-reflection.

While some lauded Ramana's honesty and dedication to his students' achievement, others wondered if such drastic action was required. Many noted that academic outcomes are subject to many factors outside the control of a headmaster, such as student effort, parental support, and wider systemic issues in education.

Minister Nara Lokesh, who initially posted the video, pointed out Ramana's sense of responsibility. His post saw a deluge of responses—some praising the teacher's humility and commitment, while others demanded wider educational reforms rather than singling out individual teachers for blame.

The incident serves to highlight the immense pressure on Indian teachers where a student's performance is immediately associated with how good a teacher is. The undue burden put on the individual in this manner at times gives way to outbursts such as Ramana's, underlining the extreme degree to which teachers care for their students' destinies.

In spite of the divided response, the headmaster's actions have struck a chord with people, initiating much-needed discussions about the necessity for a collective approach to enhancing education. Whether an inspiring gesture of accountability or a display of unnecessary guilt, there is one thing for sure—the video has resonated with audiences nationwide.

CBSE students not seen studying in regular schools will not be allowed to give Class 12 board exams, officials declared, and added that the onus of getting enrolled in "dummy schools" lies with students and parents.

In its ongoing drive to check "dummy schools", the Central Board of Secondary Education is mulling changing examination bylaws to bar such students from appearing for the board exams and will have to take the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) test.

"In the event of missing candidates or non-attending candidates during surprise inspections carried out by the board, such candidates can be barred from sitting for the board exam. The onus of not attending regular school also rests with the part of the concerned student and his/her parents," a senior board official told PTI.

Action will be taken against such schools where such a "dummy" culture is being promoted or non-attending students are being favored as per the board's affiliation and examination bylaws, said the official.

The matter was also raised in the recent Governing Board Meeting of the board where it was proposed that the decision be made effective from academic session 2025-2026.

"In the examination committee, the issue was debated in detail and concluded that by board rules, a minimum attendance of 75 percent is necessary so that students can sit for the board exam." If the necessary attendance is not up to the mark, mere enrollment at a non-attending school would not, as per him, enable such students to sit for the CBSE exam.

"Such students can also approach the NIOS to appear for the exam if not allowed by CBSE. It was also discussed that the board provides a 25 percent relaxation only on account of exigencies such as medical grounds, national or international sports activities,and other serious reasons," the official said.

The board is also considering the fact that those students who are not having obligatory attendance, the board may not seek their candidature and appropriate action could be taken against the school too for recommending such students for the exam.

"It was also decided that CBSE may discuss the above proposal with NIOS and prepare the guidelines which can be issued in the next academic session," the official further added.

Scores of students who take entrance exams for engineering and medical studies opt for admission in fake schools so that they can focus solely on competitive exam preparation. They do not attend classes and directly sit for board exams.

Students also choose dummy schools so that they can avail of state-based quota in admissions to medical and engineering colleges. For example, students who complete their senior secondary stage of education in Delhi are eligible for the Delhi state quota in medical colleges, giving them an additional incentive to attend dummy schools in the city.

The phenomenon of dummy schools is fast becoming a problem, particularly for students preparing for competitive entrance examinations in engineering and medicine. The majority of students prefer going to dummy schools, which allows them to avoid regular school attendance while focusing entirely on exam preparation. Dummy school students attend board exams only.