WBSSC job scam: Protesting teachers give deadline to Education Minister, threaten to escalate stir

Kolkata, May 24 (IANS) Teachers who lost their jobs following a recent Supreme Court order in the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment case have given a deadline to state Education Minister Bratya Basu to meet them and address their concerns.

The aggrieved teachers, who identify as "untainted" or "genuine" candidates, have warned of intensified agitation if the Minister fails to respond by May 26.

Speaking to the media on Saturday, members of the “Jogyo Shikshak-Shikshika Adhikar Mancha” (Genuine Teachers’ Rights Forum) said they have made multiple appeals to both Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Education Minister Bratya Basu but have yet to receive any response.

“Despite being genuine candidates, we are facing the brunt of a corrupt recruitment process. We deserve to know what steps the government is taking, particularly regarding the review petition filed in the Supreme Court. If the Education Minister does not meet us by Monday, we will be compelled to launch a more aggressive protest,” a forum representative said.

The forum also plans to write to all Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs from West Bengal, urging them to raise the issue of the affected teachers in Parliament. “We will approach MPs from both the ruling and opposition parties,” the representative added.

On April 3, a Supreme Court bench comprising then Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld a previous order of the Calcutta High Court that annulled 25,753 school appointments made through the WBSSC.

The apex court observed that the panel had to be scrapped entirely due to the authorities' failure to distinguish between "tainted" and "untainted" candidates.

The state government and the WBSSC have since filed review petitions in the Supreme Court seeking reconsideration of the order.

--IANS

src/skp