AFTER A four-month wait, the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) on Saturday released the list of 1,804 ‘tainted’ teachers from the 2016 State Level Selection Test (SLST).The move follows a directive from the Supreme Court on August 28, which ordered the Commission to release the names within a week.The list, uploaded at 8 pm on the Commission’s website, only includes names and roll numbers of the tainted candidates, but does not mention the schools or subjects they were associated with.According to WBSSC officials, these people would not be allowed to appear for the examinations scheduled on September 7 and September 14.In a notification, the WBSSC said, “In compliance with the order of the hon’ble supreme court of India dated 28.08.2025 in the matter of slp(c) no.23784/2025 (Bejoy Biswas & ors. vs. State of West Bengal & ors.), the list of candidates as mentioned in the list 1 is attached below, who were selected, whose selection has been set aside by the High Court and confirmed by the hon’ble Supreme Court, is hereby published in the official website of the West Bengal central school service commission in order to place the list of such tainted candidates in public domain.”Also Read | ‘Didn’t throw phone, it slipped’: TMC MLA Jiban Saha sent to judicial custody till September 12 in SSC scam caseAnother list of 1,140 candidates for Classes 9-10 and 1,020 candidates for classes 11-12, who are on the tainted list, will also not be able to appear for the new recruitment exams.“The Commission has compared the list of applicants for 2nd SLST, 2016 with the aforesaid list-I on the basis of their roll number, name and father’s name. Candidacy of some applicants have been cancelled and admit cards not issued to them. A list of remaining such candidates, who have applied for 2nd SLST and have been issued admit cards is given in List 2 below (separately for classes IX-X and XI-XII, though there are multiple common applicants). Admit cards, issued to those candidates whose Roll Number appear in the List 2 below stand cancelled. All concerned venue-in-charge are being informed accordingly. It is clarified that if any tainted candidates from the 1st SLST, 2016, selection process are issued provisional admit cards, they should not appear in the 2nd SLST, 2016,” the WBSSC notification stated.Mehaboob Mondol, one of the untainted candidates, told The Indian Express, “Finally the list is out, we are happy, but the situation is such that the tainted and untainted candidates are put on the same pedestal… Now that the list is out, let the tainted come out and say which leaders they had given money to for the job.”Story continues below this adChinmoy Mondol, another untainted candidate said, “Now that it’s out, why don’t we get our jobs back? Why do we have to sit for the examination again.”Suman Biswas, another untainted candidate said, “The question is why do we have to appear for examination again with the new candidates. Let the state government give us back our jobs with respect. With this list we will go to the Supreme Court asking for our jobs back.”Meanwhile, Union Minister of State (Education) Sukanta Majumdar claimed, “While the SSC had initially uploaded a list at 3 pm, it was deleted soon afterward. The list was finally uploaded at 8 pm. We can’t fathom why such a delay took place. A state agency like the SSC stands exposed today with its actions.”“The state and SSC had to delay the publication of the tainted list for over two years after being prodded by the Supreme Court. The TMC’s people’s representatives are involved in the scandal, which has brought tears to the eyes of thousands of eligible teachers,” he added.Story continues below this adThe Supreme Court on April 3 had invalidated the appointments of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff of state-aided schools, deeming the recruitment process “vitiated and tainted.”Later, the SC allowed untainted candidates to receive salaries till December. The 1,804 tainted teachers have been barred from returning to schools.On April 17, the court asked the state government and the school service commission to give affidavits by May 31 over the fresh recruitment exercise to fill up the posts that fall vacant after which new dates of examinations were announced.— with PTI inputs