Bengal Teachers Job Loss: Affected School Staff Head For Delhi라이브 바카라 Jantar Mantar To Stage Protest On April 16 | Details

Amid the spiraling political tension in West Bengal over the job loss of thousands of teaching and non-teaching staff following a Supreme Court verdict, the affected staff have decided to stage a month-long series of protests seeking their jobs back with dignity.

Recently, the Supreme Court had annulled the appointments of nearly 26,000 teaching and non-teaching staff recruited through the 2016 School Service Commission (SSC) and ruled the selection process of these candidates as "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.

Protest In Delhi

According to a report by The Indian Express, a group of 60 persons under the banner of 'Joggo Shikshak Shikshika Adhikar Mancha' is scheduled to leave for Delhi on Monday.

Speaking to Express , Chinmoy Mondol, one of the affected teachers, said, “We will participate in a sit-in dharna at Jantar Mantar for a day on April 16. We will also try to seek time from the President of India.”

Along with the hunger strikes, the delegation reportedly is planning to distribute awareness leaflets as well in the states they pass through on their way to Delhi and ask for support.

Protest At Raj Bhawan, Hunger Strike

After staging protests in Delhi, the agitators will also organize a ‘Raj Bhawan Abhijan’ on April 22. As per media reports, the mega rally will start from Sealdah and move towards the Y Channel in Dharmatala. Teachers and the supporters have also decided to wear badges reading “Qualified Teacher” from April 17 onwards.

Apart for the rallies and demonstrations, there will alos be a relay hunger strike from May 1 to May 7 followed by an indefinite hunger strike from May 8 onwards.

'Cannot Support This': CM Mamata Banerjee

Following the Supreme Court's recent order invalidating the appointment of 26,000 teachers and other staff in state-run and state-aided schools, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refused to accept the Supreme Court judgment personally. The top court ruled the selection process of these candidates were "vitiated and tainted".

"As a citizen of this country, I have every right, and I cannot accept this judgment, with due respect to the judges. I am expressing my opinion from a humanitarian perspective. Don't misinform or create confusion," she told the media.

However, the chief minister said that the Bengal government accepts the ruling and has already asked the School Service Commission to repeat the recruitment process.

About The School Job Scam In Bengal

For months, hundreds of teachers, who had qualified the 2016 recruitment examinations conducted by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC), had been staging a sit-in in Kolkata requesting that the merits of their cases be considered and validated by the judiciary while giving the judgement.

Former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee was arrested in connection with alleged irregularities in the recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided primary schools. He and his alleged associate, Arpita Mukherjee, were detained by the ED as part of its investigation into the money trail linked to the illegal recruitments.