PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will hand over provisional appointment letters to 25,000 candidates at a function being held in Patna's Gandhi Maidan on November 2 amid rising demand of opposition parties to conduct a probe into the recruitment exercise.
On Wednesday a number of candidates held a demonstration before the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) office alleging irregularities in the results. The candidates alleged that the results of those who had submitted fake certificates had been published as part of the counselling list.
They demanded that a fair probe be conducted to provide justice to bonafide candidates, whose names didn't figure in the final list.
The examination for the appointment of 1.70 lakh teachers in government schools was conducted by the BPSC, with the commission publishing its results from October 17 onward.
The controversy took a political overtone after former Chief Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) patron Jitan Ram Manjhi alleged discrepancies in the results published by the BPSC. Manjhi's HAM is now a part of the NDA.
Manjhi compared the teachers' recruitment irregularities with the much-highlighted 'land for jobs' scam in the railways. "In railways, it was land for job scam but in the case of teachers' recruitment it seems to be money for jobs," former CM said alleging that reservation provisions were also ignored.
"Many people will be exposed if a fair probe is conducted in the teachers recruitment exercise. It's a cruel joke with bonafide candidates who toiled hard to be appointed as teachers in government-run schools. Justice should be done with bonafide candidates," he added.
On the other hand, the leader of Opposition in the state legislative assembly Vijay Kumar Sinha also criticised the state government for its failure to conduct fair appointment of teachers.
Taking a dig at CM Nitish Kumar's programme to hand over provision appointment letters, Sinha said, "I have not heard of a recruitment exercise in which provision appointment letters are issued."
Meanwhile, BPSC chairman Atul Prasad Sinha said that cut-off marks for the School Teacher Competitive Examination for classes 1, 5, 9, 10, 11 and 12 will be released soon on the official website of the commission. "Once the cut-off marks are out, candidates will be able to download it," Sinha said.
