GTA to seek court for autonomy if Bengal government denies TET jurisdiction

The dispute over the admissibility of the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) held by the Bengali government in 2021 and Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) in 2021 is turning into a struggle for independence.

Following an RTI response from the Bengal education department stating that the GTA had not been given jurisdiction to administer the TET, GTA Chief Executive Anit Thapa stated on Thursday that the hill body was prepared to seek the court regarding the autonomy issue.

The GTA will write to the state government to convey its displeasure with the education department's response to an RTI request. The autonomy of the GTA is at stake in this matter, so if litigation is necessary, I will do it, stated Thapa.

Despite closely collaborating with the government, the GTA leader stated that he would not be hesitant to bring the matter of autonomy to the court.

The West Bengal Board of Primary Education is the competent body to conduct the TET in all districts of the state, and the GTA is not authorized to do so, according to a response to an RTI application submitted by a member of the Hamro Party (HP).

In Darjeeling politics, the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), led by Thapa, and the HP are rivals.

On February 14, 2021, while Thapa was in charge of the organization, the GTA administered the TET exam.

Different camps in the hills have claimed that the TET was "fake" and that Thapa had held the exam to increase his support in the most recent Bengal Assembly elections in response to the RTI response.

Raju Bista, a member of the BJP from Darjeeling, wrote to the CBI to request a probe. Over 14,000 candidates who had submitted their applications for the TET were given a refund of their examination costs after members of the HP filed a FIR against GTA officials.

Thapa said on Thursday that the GTA had taken over responsibility for education.

The state education agency holds TETs all around the state, but none have been held in the GTA region, according to Thapa. He was attempting to make the case that since education was a transferred issue and the state could not interfere, the TET had not been held in the GTA area by the government.

Thapa also made a document available that purportedly shows the secretary of the state department of education requested the hill body to finish hiring elementary school teachers in 2013. The District School Board's executive authority was transferred to the GTA, according to the same document.

The 2021 TET had been performed by the District School Board.

Thapa displayed a different paper from the school education directorate from 2022, which stated that since the District School Board was part of the GTA, the education department of the hill body should resolve the pension dispute of a retired teacher.

The TET was carried out lawfully, and we'll see to it that the procedure (of disclosing the results) is followed through.

When Bimal Gurung of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha was in charge in Darjeeling, claims of government meddling in the GTA's operations and a failure to transfer authority to the hill autonomous body had been made.

Through a court decision, the GTA halted the North Bengal Development Department from building three roads in the hills in 2015.

While Gurung was the chief executive, the GTA filed a case with the Supreme Court against the non-transfer of authority to the hill body. Gurung and Mamata Banerjee used to blow hot and cold in their relationship.

Nevertheless, Thapa and Mamata get along well.