“We Deserve Justice, Not Job Loss”: Protests Erupt in Kolkata as ‘Eligible’ Teachers Fight for Rights

Kolkata saw a wave of emotion and protest on Thursday as nearly 500 teachers, whose jobs were recently annulled by a Supreme Court order, took to the streets demanding justice. These teachers, identifying themselves as “eligible” candidates, claim they are being unfairly punished for the School Service Commission’s (SSC) failure to separate deserving candidates from those who secured jobs through fraudulent means in the 2016 recruitment drive.

The protest followed the Supreme Court’s April 3 decision upholding a 2024 Calcutta High Court ruling that scrapped the appointment of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff. The court called the recruitment process “vitiated and tainted,” leading to a blanket annulment of all appointments made during that drive.

“We are not the ones who engaged in corruption. Yet, we are suffering the consequences,” said Mehboob Mondal, spokesperson for the ‘Jogyo Sikshak Manch’ (Eligible Teachers Forum). “Instead of being heard, we were lathi-charged and kicked by police while trying to submit a deputation at the District Inspector of Education’s office,” he added.

The teachers are now left with no jobs, no clarity, and no hope from the very system that once appointed them. Carrying placards reading “We want back our job” and “SSC should reveal the list of tainted/untainted candidates,” the protesting teachers walked peacefully under heavy police surveillance.

Two protest rallies, one starting from Central Avenue and the other from Sealdah, converged at Esplanade, echoing a unified cry for fairness. Mondal also mentioned that their forum would consider joining the hunger strike staged by another group of teachers outside the SSC office—if they are confirmed to be eligible too.

Importantly, he clarified that his group isn’t affiliated with the protest at Sahid Minar, but they are willing to stand by any candidate who rightfully deserves the job.

The root of this chaos traces back to large-scale corruption unearthed in the 2016 SSC recruitment process, leading to arrests of former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee and several SSC officials by the CBI and ED.

“We’ve been robbed of our livelihoods not because of what we did, but because of what others did—and what the system failed to do,” said one protester.

For these teachers, this isn’t just a legal battle. It’s a fight for dignity, justice, and the right to earn a living through honest means.

News Source : “Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.”