Jobless teachers' protest outside Bengal education dept HQ continues for 3rd straight day

Around 1,000 teachers continued their sit-in outside the Bikash Bhavan throughout Friday night-Saturday morning peacefully as police personnel kept watch from a distance.

Kolkata: School teachers who lost their jobs following a recent Supreme Court verdict continued their sit-in protest for the third consecutive day on Saturday outside the West Bengal Education Department headquarters in Salt Lake.

The protestors, part of the Deserving Teachers Rights Forum, include teachers who had cleared the 2016 School Service Commission (SSC) examination but were among the 25,753 appointments invalidated by the Supreme Court, which termed the recruitment process "vitiated and tainted."

Chinmoy Mondal, a senior member of the forum, told PTI that they plan to seek an audience with President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"We will seek their advice and guidance and explain how the state has failed to distinguish between tainted and untainted candidates in its submissions to the judiciary," he said.

Mondal also expressed dismay that the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) did not consult the affected teachers before filing a revision petition with the Supreme Court on May 3.

"We are consulting our lawyers about filing a review petition," he added.

The state's legal moves could not pinpoint the "tainted" among the around 26,000 jobless teaching and non teaching staff of state-aided schools, he said.

On Saturday morning, around 1,000 teachers continued their peaceful sit-in at Bikash Bhavan, with police maintaining a watchful distance.

In a symbolic move, around 300 students from classes 5 to 8 attended an open-air class conducted by the protesting teachers.

Lessons focused on social values and environmental awareness.

A voluntary organisation of former students distributed 2,000 plates of rice and vegetable curry among the demonstrators.

"Please don’t identify us. We’re here to support our teachers, not for publicity," a spokesperson said.

However, Brindaban Ghosh, another forum leader, said any support must be coordinated through the official forum. "Teachers are not asking for alms. There is a mechanism for support," he said.

The protesting teachers are demanding that the state government take legal and administrative measures to reinstate them.

While BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari visited the protest site to express solidarity, the forum clarified its apolitical stance.

"We don’t want our movement to be politicised," said Mondal.

"We invite all citizens and leaders — be it from the BJP, TMC, CPIM, Congress, or SUCI — to stand by us, but not use our platform for political gain."

Ghosh added, "We will fight unitedly till justice is served, without allowing any political party to exploit our struggle."