Bhubaneswar, (Reporterspen), June 18: The Orissa High Court affirmed the merit list prepared by the Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA) for the recruitment of junior teachers in primary and upper primary schools on Tuesday. Following hearings regarding alleged discrepancies in the list’s preparation, the High Court ruled that authorities may proceed with teacher recruitment based on the existing merit list.
A division bench of the High Court amended an earlier ruling by a single judge after reviewing new information provided by the state government and OSEPA officials.
Earlier in March, the High Court had instructed OSEPA to create a revised draft merit list for appointing over 18,000 junior teachers in primary (Class I to V) and upper primary (Class V to VIII) schools across the state.
Previously, after complaints of irregularities in the junior teacher recruitment process, the High Court had invalidated OSEPA’s initial merit list and mandated the preparation of a new one in accordance with recruitment guidelines.
OSEPA had initially published a draft merit list on January 15, scheduling document verification on January 20-21 following a computer-based test. Several petitions contested the list, citing discrepancies with the guidelines of the School and Mass Education department from August 22, 2023, which stipulated a district-wise draft merit list. Instead, OSEPA had released a broader state-level merit list, affecting numerous candidates.
