Uncertainty & despair: Terminated teachers assemble outside SSC office in Salt Lake
Telegraph | 12 April 2025
Paying EMIs, ailing parents, children’s education, worrying about how students will complete their syllabus and uncertainty.
Thousands of teachers and school staff whose jobs were terminated by a Supreme Court order last week assembled outside the school service commission office in Salt Lake on Friday. The Telegraph spoke to some of them:
Shuvadip Adhikari, 35, from Murshidabad, and Arpita Sengupta, 35, from Burdwan
Husband and wife. Both jobless now.
Shuvadip taught life science at Tungi SS High School in Murshidabad and Arpita taught geography at Boro Balaram Lalbehari Vidyamandir in Burdwan.
“My wife and I got our jobs together. We were happy because our jobs gave us financial security. But suddenly we are in a situation where our income has become zero,” Shuvadip said.
“We worked hard to get the government jobs. This kind of corruption will erode people’s faith in the government and government jobs. It will also erode trust in public exams.
“Think about the students. There are some subjects like political science that are taught only at the higher secondary level and a school has only one teacher for the subject. There are many schools whose lone teacher for the subject has lost their job,” he said.
“What will happen to the students now? What will they learn? How will the syllabus be completed?”
Pinki Chakraborty, 37, from Khardah, North 24-Parganas
Taught life science to Classes IX and X at DML Pal High School in Hooghly.
“I have my ailing parents at home. My father is a heart patient. My mother needs a knee replacement surgery. We had decided to go ahead with it but now I am thinking twice. How will I manage the finances?
“I have a daughter in Class III. I want to give her a good education. My husband, who runs a business, and I ran the family together. Now we are clueless about what will happen,” she said.
Mita Bhakta, 32, from Malda
Taught Bengali at Panthapalli Girls’ High School in Malda.
“I have come with my seven-month-old daughter. I had to, because I will not go back home till the government resolves this. We will not sit for exams again. The government has to reinstate those who got their jobs on merit,” Mita said.
“I came here at 8pm on Thursday and will stay here as long as required.”
“I took a personal loan because I had the job. The EMI is still continuing. How will I pay the instalments?” she asked.
Rabindranath Saha, 37, from Durgapur, West Burdwan
Taught history to Classes IX and X at Diara HNM High School in Murshidabad.
“The police assault on protesting teachers outside the DI office in Kasba is unacceptable. They were unarmed teachers who have lost their jobs for no fault of theirs,” said Rabindranath.
“Think about what will happen to the families of the teachers who got their jobs on merit. I am a visually challenged person. I got the job on merit.
“My parents are fully dependent on my income. My brother and sister-in-law are also partially dependent on my salary,” he said.