Kolkata, Apr 17 (Reporter) West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday expressed relief after the Supreme Court- keeping students’ interests in mind - ruled that assistant teachers who were not ‘tainted’ but lost their jobs following an earlier court order can continue teaching. “We are relieved that the Supreme Court has given us time till December 31. We were really worried about the salary of the teachers but in this present condition they will continue to get their salary. We had also talked about an alternative way,” the chief minister said in a press conference at the state secretariat. “I had said that we would ensure those who lost their jobs do not face any hardship. We have gained some time. The matter won’t drag on until 2026. I hope it will be resolved within this year. I also hope we won’t make any mistakes,” she added. The chief minister was referring to the court directive that instructed the state government to begin a new recruitment process by May 31 and to complete it by December 31. Earlier the apex court had given three months to complete the recruitment process. However, this order is limited to assistant teachers. The bench clarified that in the recruitment of Group C and D staff, there was widespread malpractice, making those appointments ineligible for similar relief. When asked about it, the chief minister said, “We will consult with the lawyers and do whatever needs to be done based on their advice. There should be no rush. Have faith in the law and in the government," the chief minister said. Earlier, on April 3, the Supreme Court had nullified the appointments of over 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff in state-sponsored and aided schools due to serious irregularities in the 2016 recruitment drive conducted by the School Service Commission. A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar found that the entire recruitment process was deeply flawed. The court noted that manipulations during the selection process had severely compromised its fairness, rendering the appointments invalid...////...