West Bengal teachers stage protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar

New Delhi: A group of teachers and non-teaching staff from West Bengal, who lost their jobs following a Supreme Court verdict in a case on irregularities in their recruitment process, staged a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Wednesday, demanding to be reinstated.

The teachers, who have been agitating in West Bengal, staged the protest here under the banner of 'Jogyo Shikkok Shikkhika Adhikar Manch', a platform advocating for the reinstatement of those who had cleared the exam on merit.

The protesting teachers and non-teaching staff said the SSC failed in distinguishing between fraudulent and legitimate candidates, leading to a blanket cancellation of appointments, adding that they have urged the state government and the commission to devise a mechanism to reinstate the deserving candidates.

Chinmoy Mondal, one of the teachers appointed in 2019, following the examination held in 2016 that is under the scanner, said they have come to Delhi to make an appeal to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding their situation.

"We want to tell the people of the country how we are suffering. The education system is collapsing in our state and our rights are not being protected," Mondal told PTI.

"The innocent should not be punished, else the future generations will shy away from becoming teachers thinking that it is a tainted profession," he said.

Mondal added that they are fighting not just for their jobs, but for their dignity.

Rahman, who was also appointed as a teacher, said they should not be punished for institutional fraud.

"The CBI has said there are around 6,000 teachers who are unqualified. The CBI should be allowed to investigate the case. Those who are corrupt will not agree to a CBI probe, but we want the investigation to be done, so that the truth is revealed," he said.

Pralay Kumar Jamadar, who hails from Midnapore and was appointed as a non-teaching staff, said he was posted in a school in Purulia, near the Jharkhand-West Bengal border, where he was living with his family in a rented accommodation. His family is still there, Jamadar said, adding that he continues to pay a monthly rent of Rs 5,000 even though he has lost his job.

"Our families are facing the brunt. People talk behind our backs and accuse us of being thieves.... Our children have to put up with taunts when they go to school," he told PTI.

Bikram Polley, who is from Howrah and was posted in West Midnapore, claimed that those who cleared the exam on merit were given postings far from their homes, while those who indulged in malpractices were given postings in their home districts.

"I was posted in a school 250 km away from my home and I moved there for the job. If we are sacked, it will be injustice," he said.

Partho Das, who was also appointed as a non-teaching staff, said those who cleared the exam on merit accept a CBI probe, while claiming that segregation is possible between those who cleared the exam on merit and those who did not.

Another protester, Sujoy Sardar, said the entire country should support them.

"The prime minister, the president, everyone should take note of it. Those innocent should get relief," he said.

Meanwhile, CPI(ML) Liberation leader Sucheta De questioned the Supreme Court verdict in the matter.

"The way the Supreme Court has been behaving over the last few years is concerning. The independence of the judiciary is under question.... What is the logic behind this verdict? They cannot take away the jobs of all teachers," she said.

The protesting teachers and non-teaching staff raised slogans, such as "Give us our jobs or give us death", and carried placards demanding justice and action against the guilty, not the innocent.

Asked about their plan of action in the days to come, Mondal said they will try to make an appeal to the president, the prime minister and other leaders.

He added that the platform was formed by those who cleared the exam on merit and has around 12,500 teaching and 2,000 non-teaching staff as members.

The Supreme Court on April 3 invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and other staff in state-run and state-aided schools in West Bengal, terming their selection process "vitiated and tainted".

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld a Calcutta High Court verdict dated April 22, 2024, annulling the appointments.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a meeting with the jobless teachers on April 7 and asked them to keep faith in her.

The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) has filed a petition in the Supreme Court, requesting that the dismissed staff be allowed to continue until the end of the academic year or until a new recruitment process is completed -- whichever is earlier.

State Education Minister Bratya Basu, in the presence of WBBSE President Ramanuj Ganguly, had last week said the petition is expected to be heard by the apex court on April 17.