New Delhi: Amid the ongoing agitation of the teachers who have lost their jobs in the SSC scam in West Bengal, Bratya Basu, the state Education Minister has expressed surprise over the Deserving Teachers Rights Forum’s present sit-in. He expressed disbelief as to why the teachers are protesting despite the state government taking every possible step within the ambit of the law to save their jobs and ensuring that the teachers will continue to receive salary.
Around 1,000 protesters belonging to the Deserving Teachers Rights Forum are protesting since May 15. They are demanding reinstatement, as a landmark Supreme Court order has removed them from their jobs as part of the judgment regarding SSC scam. So far, the teachers have remain fixed on their demand of not appearing for fresh recruitment tests. Their argument is that since they had already cleared the 2016 West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) examination and have been actively teaching since then, they will not appear in the new recruitment exams.
On April 3, the Supreme Court termed the entire recruitment process as ‘vitiated and tainted’ and struck down the jobs of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff. Bratya Basu expressed his dismay over the increasing tempo of the protests, with the protestors blocking the gates of Bikash Bhavan, the state education headquarters, on May 15. He said, “I cannot fathom why they did such things after the government sat with them on several occasions and took all legal steps, including moving the Supreme Court in consultation with senior advocates.”
He added, “We had sent their names to the offices of the District Inspector of Schools, and they have been receiving salaries. Many had returned to their workplaces. Now I don’t know why they have suddenly returned to agitation. We don’t want their service records to be affected for their interest.” When asked about the demand of the teachers not to sit for a fresh recruitment exam, Basu said that the SSC is acting as per the Supreme Court’s directions. Notably, as per the Supreme Court direction, the SSC has to issue a notice by May 31 to start a new recruitment process for the 2016 candidates. The entire process of the recruitment must be completed by December 31. The spokesperson of the Deserving Teachers Rights Forum, Chinmoy Mondal, replied to the comments made by Basu and said, “The state and the SSC did not consult us before moving the Supreme Court. We see an attempt to shield tainted candidates by excluding real stakeholders from the process.”
