Following a deadlock in a marathon meeting with a 13-member delegation of protesting teachers on Monday night, WBSSC chairman Siddhartha Majumdar said he would consult legal experts before making any public statement. The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) failed to publish the list of “untainted” 2016 SSC qualifiers—whose jobs were annulled by the Supreme Court—prompting an indefinite sit-in protest outside its Kolkata headquarters, Acharya Sadan.
Although the Supreme Court had extended services for untainted candidates till December 31 and directed fresh recruitment by then, SSC officials claimed that releasing lists of eligible and ineligible candidates would create complications. This came despite state Education Minister Bratya Basu’s earlier assurance to release the list by April 21. The Supreme Court had invalidated the entire 2016 recruitment process citing irregularities, leading to the dismissal of around 26,000 school staff across West Bengal.
Protesting teachers, alleging that only the first three rounds of counselling are being considered valid, fear most of them will lose their jobs. They have vowed to continue their protest until a resolution is offered, demanding the resignation of the SSC chairman and the Education Minister, as well as compensation of ₹2 crore. Many broke down, questioning why they should suffer for someone else’s wrongdoing. Teachers demanded transparency through the release of OMR sheets and official lists. Security around the SSC office was tightened by Monday night with RAF deployment.
Support has also come in from other groups, including the West Bengal Junior Doctors Front, which expressed solidarity with the agitating teachers.
