The recent Supreme Court verdict cancelling the appointment of over 25,000 Bengal government school teachers has not only put the future of the sacked teachers and their families in jeopardy but also left the schools grappling to complete the curriculum amid a staff crunch.
Speaking about the reduced strength, Chiranjib Bhattacharjee, President, West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE), told The Indian Express, “We will review each case and then make an appropriate decision. We are trying our best to ensure that higher secondary education does not get affected. We will hire part-time teachers and para teachers if required.”
Animesh Halder, District Secretary, South 24 Parganas, Secondary Teachers & Employees’ Association (STEA), said, “It is a very sad day for us, but right now, the situation of the schools in West Bengal is really bad. A massive number of teachers lost their jobs, especially those who were part of the Higher Secondary section. In many schools, 10 teachers have lost their jobs. In some schools, 20 to 30 teachers have lost their jobs. Already there is a huge vacancy…”
“Some of the sacked teachers have been given Higher Secondary answer scripts for checking… what will now happen to those papers, the entire situation has become complicated,” he added.
“The situation is such that now the headmaster has to come and open the school gate and ring the bell. The entire education system is now on the verge of collapse, with so many teachers losing their jobs after the Supreme Court order. If the School Service Commission (SSC) had provided a transparent picture to the court, then this would not have happened. We demand that those involved in this corruption be punished,” said Amol Nayak, Secretary, Sara Bangla Shikhok and Shikha Karmi Samity.
Meanwhile, Bijan Sarkar, President, West Bengal Trinamool Secondary Teachers Association, told this correspondent, “There is a conspiracy to break down the education system in Bengal. Will the schools remain closed till fresh recruitment is conducted? I feel that it is a conspiracy by the Left and the BJP to finish the education system in Bengal… This is being done to push the bright future of the children of this state into complete darkness.”
At Bansberia Ganges High School in the Hooghly district, headmaster Vishal Tiwari told reporters that the institute lost 15 of its 41 staff members owing to the apex court’s verdict. “Three life science and two mathematics teachers were among those whose appointments were cancelled by the court. It has become extremely difficult for us to run the school,” Tiwari said.
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Malo, a specially-abled Group-C employee of Birnagar High School in Nadia district and a cancer patient, told reporters, “I won gold for India in the Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled (FESPIC Games) in South Korea in 2002. I got this job in 2016. I have a wife and two children. How will my family survive now?”
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