Bengal Education Minister denies retirement age increase for teachers, calls viral notice fake

West Bengal’s Education Minister, Bratya Basu, has officially confirmed that there will be no change to the retirement age for state government teachers. The announcement comes after a fake notification circulated online, claiming that the retirement age for both primary and secondary school teachers would be increased from 60 to 65. The false notice, which appeared to be an official government communication, caused significant confusion among teachers across the state.

The fraudulent notification, which displayed the address "West Bengal Government, School Education Department, Bikash Bhavan, Salt Lake City, Kolkata-700091," falsely claimed that the state government had made a decision to extend the retirement age by five years. This led to widespread rumors, with teachers and educational staff assuming the information to be legitimate. However, Education Minister Bratya Basu immediately clarified that this notification was completely fake, emphasizing that there had been no such decision made by the state government.

In his official statement, Basu urged the public to ignore the misinformation and verify any news from credible sources before accepting it as true. He also confirmed that the existing policy, which sets the retirement age for teachers at 60, remains unchanged. The Education Minister reiterated that the circulation of fake news not only creates confusion but also undermines the trust in official government communications.

Apart from the retirement age issue, teachers in West Bengal are also awaiting the resolution of their long-standing demand for an increase in Dearness Allowance (DA). Currently, under the Sixth Pay Commission, state government teachers receive a 14% DA, which is significantly lower than the 53% DA provided to central government employees under the Seventh Pay Commission. This disparity has been a source of frustration for state government employees, including teachers, who have been calling for an adjustment to bring their DA in line with that of their central counterparts.

Moreover, teachers are also awaiting the outcome of a pending case regarding DA arrears under the Fifth Pay Commission. The case, which will be heard by the Supreme Court, concerns the unpaid DA dues that have accumulated over several years. The next hearing for this case is scheduled for Tuesday, and the outcome may have significant implications for the payment of arrears and any adjustments to the DA rate for state government employees. The state government’s response to any judicial orders will be closely watched by teachers and other state employees awaiting financial adjustments.