12345 Kolkata: A large number of job losers did not attend schools a day after CM Mamata Banerjee urged them to return to work voluntarily while assuring them that no one would lose their jobs. The Supreme Court ordered cancellation of jobs of around 26,000 teachers and teaching staff from the 2016 panel.
On Tuesday, several jobless teachers met at Sahid Minar, where they gathered to discuss their next course of action. Sangram Majumder, a maths teacher at Kanchrapara Khudiram Bose Institute, is yet to return to school as he is unsure if it will be considered ‘contempt of court' because the court has already ordered the cancellation of their jobs. "I am in a dilemma as the order came from the country's top court. How can I step into the school after the order?" he asked.
He was the only mathematics teacher at his school, and he used to take six classes daily between Monday and Friday, and three classes on Saturday. "I checked maths answer scripts for Madhyamik. Last year, I did election duty as well," he said.
Rajat Haldar, a physical science teacher at Subhasnagar High School, Mathurapur, the only earning member of a six-member family, said he will attend school only after there is a further order from the court based on the state's appeal. "I am nobody to disobey an SC order. If I commit any violation of the order, I will be solely responsible for it," he said.
Amit Ranjan Bhuyia, a physical science teacher at Keorakhali Nakul Sahadev High School, Kultali, shifted to Kolkata along with his wife and daughter after he got the job in 2019. "I will not offer voluntary service as I proved my merit to get this job."