Quite obviously, primary teaching jobs are highly prized in the eastern seaboard state of West Bengal (pop. 91 million). In the West Bengal primary TET (teacher eligibility test) 2015 scheduled to be conducted by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) within the framework of the NCTE (National Council for Teacher Education) on August 16 and August 30, 3 million college/university graduates are expected to write the exam. This is an almost ten-fold increase over the 365,000 candidates who wrote this exam last year, clearance of which is certain to secure a primary/upper primary school teacher’s job.

The conduct of TET is never smooth in West Bengal. Eligibility criteria change from year to year. In 2012, to qualify as upper primary teachers, candidates were required to have a bachelor’s and B.Ed degrees before writing TET. But this year, eligibility norms have been relaxed and all graduates are eligible to write the test. Moreover, TET admission cards printed by WBBPE tend to be riddled with errors and many eligible candidates were denied entrance into TET exam halls in 2012.

This year, an additional problem has presented itself. Not expecting a ten-fold increase in the number of applicants, WBBPE hasn’t printed enough forms. This has led to a huge scramble for TET application forms. In North 24 Parganas, Dum Dum, Nimta and Baserhat, huge crowds resorted to violence and ransacked the branches of several nationalised banks on July 5.

“It is very strange that so many well-qualified candidates who aren’t likely to accept primary school teaching jobs, are also filling TET application forms. This year, the number of candidates has increased so much that handling them on the exam dates will be a big challenge,” says Archana Ghosh Sarkar, chairperson of WBBPE’s Nadia district.

The snow-balling number of graduates applying for TET exam forms is the outcome of rising unemployment in the state. During the 34 years of uninterrupted reign of the CPM (Communist Party of India — Marxist)-led Left Front government (1977-2011) over West Bengal, there was a steady flight of capital from the state and virtual de-industrialisation. Unfortunately, the rule of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress hasn’t been an improvement, with Indian and foreign businessmen still reluctant to invest in the state and create jobs. In the circumstances, a primary teacher’s job which pays Rs.15,000 per month at the entry level is attractive.

But the auguries aren’t good. In the Central TET held in 2014, only 11.95 percent of in-service teachers who wrote the test passed. In West Bengal’s first ever TET held in 2012, only 1 percent cleared the test.

Rinki Gomes (Kolkata)