Teacher Section Correction: West Bengal Education Department Issues New Directive on Teacher Section Correction

Teacher Section Correction: Significant relief has arrived for teachers working in government and government-aided schools across West Bengal. The School Education Department has finally stepped in to resolve the long-standing confusion regarding the classification of teacher ‘sections’ on administrative portals like Utsashree and U-DISE. A clear directive has been issued to settle the disputes surrounding the categorization of teachers into ‘Normal Section’ versus ‘Upper Primary Section’.

Context of the New Directive

For a long time, various teacher associations had been raising concerns that many teachers were being incorrectly categorized under the Upper Primary section on digital portals, contrary to their service conditions. The matter escalated to the judiciary. Following a crucial verdict by the Supreme Court on September 1, 2025, and subsequent observations by the Calcutta High Court, the Directorate of School Education has taken decisive action. On February 25, 2026, the Commissioner of School Education issued this notification addressed to the District Inspectors of Schools (Secondary) of all districts to rectify these errors.

Classification Rules: Who Goes Where?

The directive outlines specific rules for correcting teacher data through Master Directory Management, based on the nature and timing of their recruitment. Here is the detailed breakdown:

• RLST Appointees (Pre-2016): Teachers recruited through the RLST system (prior to 2016) must be categorized under the ‘Normal Section’, adhering to the government order dated September 13, 2022. There is a strict prohibition against moving them to Upper Primary or Secondary sections.
• Physical & Work Education: Teachers recruited for Physical Education and Work Education through the 1st SLST are to be included in the ‘Upper Primary Sub-Section’.
• New Upper Primary Recruits: Only those teachers appointed specifically for the Upper Primary level in 2024 or later will be categorized under the ‘Upper Primary’ section.
• Minority Schools: For Christian Missionary or other Minority schools (classes V-VIII), teachers will continue to be kept in the ‘Normal Section’ as per the previous system.
• Secondary & Higher Secondary: Teachers recruited post-2016 specifically for classes IX-X will remain in the ‘Secondary’ section, and those for classes XI-XII will remain in the ‘Higher Secondary’ (HS) section. No changes are required for these categories.

Implementation and Impact

Teachers do not need to take any individual action following this order. The notification explicitly states that the respective District Inspector (DI) offices will handle the data correction process on the portals. This rule applies to Junior High, High, and Higher Secondary schools alike. This administrative cleanup is expected to eliminate future complications regarding transfers and service management, bringing much-needed clarity to the teaching community.