Kolkata, Apr 21 (ANI): Teachers, who lost their job following a Court verdict, stage a sit-in protest outside School Service Commission (SSC) office, demanding their jobs back, in Kolkata on Monday. (ANI Photo)
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Thousands of teachers, whose services were terminated as a result of a Supreme Court order, continued their protest by laying a siege to the West Bengal School Service Commission headquarters overnight, demanding that the commission has to publish a segregated list containing the names of those found to be “untainted” and were recruited on the basis of merit.
The agitating teachers launched the indefinite sit-in outside the Acharya Sadan, the WBSSC headquarters, in Kolkata on Monday night, after the commission failed to release the list of untainted candidates and 2016 SSC qualifiers.
The Supreme Court on April 3 upheld the Calcutta High Court’s ruling that annulled over 25,000 appointments of teachers and non-teaching staff made by the WBSSC, stating that the entire selection process had been “vitiated and tainted” beyond resolution.
The Calcutta High Court on April 22, 2024 ordered the cancellation of the recruitment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in government and aided schools across the State by WBSSC in 2016.
After a meeting with some of the teachers who lost their jobs, State Education Minister Bratya Basu had said that the list of “deserving and undeserving” candidates would be published in two weeks. The teachers were expecting that the WBSSC would publish the list on Monday evening.
But when the commission didn’t release the list of untainted candidates, thousands of teachers began the sit-in outside its office, shouting the slogan “we want justice”.
A section of junior doctors, who were involved in the protest after RG Kar rape and murder case, went to WBSSC office to show solidarity with the teachers. A huge contingent of the Rapid Action Force was deployed at midnight.
The Education Minister said late Monday that legal experts had advised the commission against publishing the segregated list of untainted and tainted candidates as it would fail legal scrutiny.
Basu urged the agitating teachers to wait till the State Government files a review petition with the Supreme Court. “Please wait for the Government to file a review petition with the Supreme Court. We have to follow the guidelines,” he added.
Published on April 22, 2025