Teachers in West Bengal, whose appointments were annulled following a Supreme Court ruling, have initiated a hunger strike demanding that the government halt new recruitments until their review petition is resolved. Ten educators-Mita Sarkar, Chinmoy Mondal, Koushik Sarkar, Balaram Biswas, Sukumar Soren, Bikash Roy, Manik Majumder, Kishore Kumar Roy, Anirban Saha, and Achinta Das-began their “fast unto death” at 1 a.m. on June 13. As of the latest reports, they are nearing the completion of 48 hours without food.
“We lost our livelihoods through no fault of our own but as a result of government corruption. This extreme step was necessary. We will continue our hunger strike until our demands are met or until our bodies can no longer sustain us,” stated Chinmoy Mondal, one of the fasting teachers. This demonstration follows months of unrest triggered by an April 3 Supreme Court decision that invalidated nearly 26,000 teaching and non-teaching appointments made by the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) in 2016, which the court deemed part of a “vitiated and tainted” hiring process.
In response to the court’s ruling, the West Bengal government recently announced fresh recruitment plans to fill 44,203 vacancies for assistant teachers. Additionally, both the state government and the SSC have filed review petitions with the Supreme Court. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee emphasized on May 27 that the processes surrounding the review petition and the new recruitment efforts would proceed concurrently.
However, the impacted teachers, who describe themselves as “sacked and untainted,” are questioning why the application deadline for new positions is set to expire before the Supreme Court reconvenes on July 14 to discuss their review petition. “Our primary demand for the hunger strike is straightforward: we want the government to delay new recruitments until after the Supreme Court issues a ruling,” said Mehebub Mondal, a leading voice of the Jogyo Shikkhok Shikkhika Adhikar Mancha (JSSAM). He expressed skepticism about the government’s commitment to the review process.
Mondal noted that the review petition represents one of the last avenues for reinstating the job appointments of teachers who had not been implicated in any wrongdoing. He and other supporters advocate for a certified list of “untainted candidates” to be published and a reevaluation of their OMR sheets to properly reflect their qualifications. “We have proved our mettle over seven years of diligent service. It is unjust for us to be treated as though we must start from scratch,” he explained.
Additionally, if re-examinations are mandated for their reapplying, Mondal insists that a separate recruitment process should be established specifically for teachers who were affected by the cancellation of the 2016 panel. He further claimed that during a meeting with JSSAM representatives on June 12, the SSC chairperson refused to address any of the educators’ concerns.
As the hunger strike continues, the predicament of these teachers reflects contentious issues surrounding educational appointments in West Bengal, spotlighting the intersection of legality, governance, and the fate of dedicated professionals who fear they may be unjustly sidelined in the haste for new recruits.
Original Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/protesting-teachers-in-bengal-go-on-hunger-strike-till-government-meets-demands/article69694938.ece
Category : Kolkata
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Publish Date: 2025-06-15 10:33:00
