A massive protest broke out on Thursday between the Bidhannagar Police and jobless SSC teachers who had called for the “Bikash Bhawan Abhijan.”
Over one thousand teachers — identified as “not specifically tainted” and allowed to return to schools until December — have been staging a sit-in outside Bikash Bhavan, the education department headquarters in Salt Lake, since Wednesday afternoon.
They are protesting against the school education department and the School Service Commission (SSC) for filing review petitions before the Supreme Court allegedly without consulting them.
Addressing mediapersons, Mehaboob Mondol, spokesperson of the teachers, said, “They did not consult with us or our advocates before the review petition was moved. Never before had anyone seen teachers breaking gates and entering. But now their patience has ended, so they broke all the gates.”
Mondol added, “Surprisingly, I saw that an elected member, along with his supporters, came and assaulted the teachers with helmets. The Chief Minister has to immediately intervene as only she can resolve the matter. We are tired of speaking to the Education Minister. We will not allow any notification to be published.”
One protesting teacher said, “The state is not taking any initiative. Why should we take responsibility for the sins of others?”
Another protester added, “We had not given bribes, then why should we suffer? Why should we give exams again? We had given the exam and got the job. Just because of some others, why should we have to suffer?”
The protesting teachers raised slogans demanding justice.
A large contingent of Bidhannagar Police, along with RAF and combat force personnel, were deployed at the site. Tear gas was kept ready.
Bidhannagar Chairman Sabyasachi Dutta was allegedly manhandled by teachers. Speaking to the media, he said, “I had come for my official work. The state is looking into their demands, but no one is above court orders. They only know whom they gave the money to—how can I say anything? We respect their feelings.”
As police and his bodyguards escorted him to his car, teachers shouted “Chor!” (thief). Many teachers lay down in front of the vehicle. One of them said, “Let them drive the car over us or shoot us. Our life is in complete uncertainty. We have our jobs till December, but what will happen after that?”
Protesting teachers also said, “They are protecting the thieves. We will break down the gates. We must be reinstated with dignity. What is wrong with our demands? The goons of political leaders are coming and beating us up.”
There were allegations that supporters of Sabyasachi Dutta also assaulted teachers, reportedly using helmets during the altercation.
Around 26,000 teaching and non-teaching staff recruited through the SSC lost their jobs following a Supreme Court order on April 3. The state government had assured them of support and a legal battle on their behalf. A meeting was held with Education Minister Bratya Basu, during which the state promised that a review petition would be filed, and that unemployed teachers would be kept informed of every legal step taken.
However, the protesting teachers allege that these promises were not kept. They claim that the Supreme Court had instructed the recruitment process to begin by May.
Last week, the education department and the SSC filed a review petition against the Supreme Court’s April 3 order, which called the entire recruitment process by the SSC in 2016 “tainted”.
Among the protestors are 15,403 teachers identified by the commission as “not found to be specifically tainted,” from a pool of 17,206 teachers. This identification followed the Supreme Court’s April 17 modification of its earlier order, made after an appeal by the state secondary education board. These teachers will continue to receive their salaries until December. The remaining 1,804 teachers have been barred from returning to schools.
On April 17, the Supreme Court directed the state government and the SSC to submit affidavits by May 31 detailing the fresh recruitment process to fill the vacant posts.