Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday assured full support to eligible candidates who lost school jobs following a Supreme Court order, asserting that her government will ensure they don’t remain jobless or have a break in service.
Speaking at a meeting of school job losers, at the Netaji Indoor Stadium here, Banerjee urged the affected teachers and staff to return to their respective schools and “voluntarily” resume duties.
The apex court had on April 3 invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and staffers in state-run and aided schools in Bengal who were selected through a state School Service Commission recruitment drive in 2016, calling the entire selection process “vitiated and tainted”.
Tensions flared as many job aspirants without entry passes attempted to gain access to the venue to attend the programme. A large number of police was deployed to manage the crowd and maintain order amidst the chaos.
The gathering came in response to the Supreme Court’s last week upholding of a Calcutta High Court order, which invalidated the appointment of over 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff due to alleged irregularities in the School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment process. The court ruled that the entire recruitment drive had been compromised, prompting widespread outrage among the affected candidates.
Additionally, a section of the dismissed educators is preparing to file a review petition with the apex court and is also planning to seek the intervention of President Droupadi Murmu through a formal appeal for reinstatement.
Adding to the growing momentum, a united front of those impacted by alleged corruption in various SSC exams has announced a protest march, dubbed Nabanna Abhiyan, scheduled for April 21. However, the group has indicated that it is willing to withdraw the protest if Chief Minister Banerjee agrees to meet with them before April 15.
