The West Bengal government will introduce a bill in the state legislative assembly, tentatively after the Durga Puja, to curtail the powers of the state Madrasah Service Commission set up by the Left Front and empower the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) to recruit teachers for madrasahs alongside other state-run or state-aided institutions, officials aware of the development said on Thursday.
The petitioners argued that a government aiding the minority institutions could frame appointment guidelines for teachers but could not act as the appointer itself. Nobody opposed the decision. Because of the corruption in teacher recruitment during the TMC era, sarkar said the WBSSC cannot be packed away for good just.
“The decision was taken by the state cabinet in September and chief minister Suvendu Adhikari announced it in public on October 6. After coming to power in May, the Bharatiya Janata Party government took several steps that raised eyebrows, especially in the Left Front, which had set up the West Bengal Madrasah Service Commission through an Act passed in 2008. Several petitions were filed at the Calcutta high court challenging the 2008 Act. On June 22, weeks after the BJP came to power, finance minister Swapan Dasgupta presented a net budget of ₹ 4,38,775.29 crore for 2026-2027, saying his government “envisions a state that is prosperous yet compassionate, modern yet rooted in tradition, globally competitive yet locally inclusive. Of the 100,000 vacancies to be filled up in state government departments, 50,000 would go to teachers, professors and non-teaching staff, Dasgupta said in his budget speech. The allocation for minority affairs and madrasah education was kept at ₹ 2,165.42 crore. In comparison, the medium, small and micro enterprises (MSME) department was allotted ₹ 1,814.60 crore. On September 7, chief minister Adhikari said Aliah University’s control would be transferred from the state minority affairs and madrasah education department to the higher education department.
He said the Madrasah Service Commission would be merged with the WBSSC,” a bureaucrat said, requesting anonymity.
