Sacking of Teachers: Banerjee Assures Them of Government’s “Separate Plans” in Their Support
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 7: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday met the teachers who lost their jobs following the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Calcutta High Court’s order annulling the appointment of over 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff in state-run and state-aided schools and asked them to continue with their normal works since they had not been served with any termination letter.
Declaring that she did not accept the verdict of the top court, she also vowed to back the teachers who were sacked from their jobs after the Supreme Court’s order and said the government stood by them during the difficult times. The Chief Minister also announced that her government has “separate plans” to ensure eligible candidates do not become unemployed or have any break in jobs.
“We have to accept the court’s order, seek clarification and file a review petition too. You have not received a termination letter, so you keep working,” she said, asking the teachers to continue working. Earlier, teachers at the gathering said they won’t take an exam again to qualify for the job. “We will file a review petition and we will urge the West Bengal government and School Service Commission to file review petitions too,” a teacher said.
Addressing a section of impacted teachers at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata, Mamata said she might be jailed for her stance and affirmed that her government stands by their side. “Do not think that we have accepted this [decision]. Our heart is also aching because of your grief. We are all humans, and our hearts are not made of stone. It is because of this, they might put me in jail for saying this, but I don’t care. When someone is in trouble, we don’t need to see who is red, white, yellow, or green. We are supposed to stand by their side. We cannot deny the responsibility to restore their dignity and respect that they deserve,” she said.
Ms Banerjee also cited the example of the all-India medical entrance exam NEET and said the top court did not cancel the whole examination in that case. “The Supreme Court must clarify who is deserving and who is not. Give us the list. No one has the right to break the education system. In the Vyapam case in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, so many people were killed. They have not got justice till today. In NEET, many allegations surfaced. The Supreme Court did not cancel the examination. Why is Bengal being targeted? We want to know. You are scared of Bengal’s talent,” she told the gathering.
“If the Supreme Court provides us clarity, we will be grateful. If not, we will find a way and stand by you. Suffer for two months, you don’t have to suffer for 20 years. And I will compensate for those two months too. You won’t have to beg,” she said.
Under fire, Mamata Banerjee has responded by accusing Opposition parties BJP and CPM of hatching a conspiracy aimed at the “collapse of the state education system”. Targeting the rivals, she said, “You have people everywhere. But don’t snatch jobs from teachers to target me. Remember, an injured tiger is more dangerous. It’s an attack on our government,” she said.
“There is a conspiracy going on to destroy the education system. Teachers of classes 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th are the gateways to higher education…Many (teachers) are gold medalists; they have achieved great results in their lives, and you are calling them thieves. You are calling them incompetent; who gave you this right? Who is playing this game…” she said.
The Supreme Court’s ruling on April 3 was in connection with the Calcutta High Court order cancelling of the appointments by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) in 2016 over an alleged school jobs-for-cash scam. The SC had observed that the appointments were vitiated by fraud. Citing legal precedents, the court said this was a case “wherein the entire selection process has been vitiated and tainted beyond resolution.”
“Manipulations and frauds on a large scale, coupled with the attempted cover-up, have dented the selection process beyond repair and partial redemption. The credibility and legitimacy of the selection are denuded,” the bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said in its order.
The order noted that the School Service Commission “has been candid enough to admit; (i) rank jumping, that is, to say candidates having lower rank were preferred over those having higher rank, (ii) out of panel appointments, that is, candidates who are not in the panel of shortlisted candidates have been recommended and appointed, (iii) candidates who were not recommended by WBSSC were appointed by the Board, and (iv) manipulation of the OMR scores”.
The court also noted that the School Service Commission had destroyed the OMR sheets and said there is “no justification” for this move. “In spite of the factual background and the credible evidence indicating irregularities, WBSSC initially did try and cover up the lapses and illegalities. The cover up itself has made the verification and ascertainment more difficult or rather impossible given the scale of camouflage and dressing up done at each stage. We are convinced that the entire selection process was intentionally compromised due to the illegalities involved,” it said.
Meanwhile, the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Suvendu Adhikari staged a protest along with the BJP MLAs against the Mamata government, demanding her resignation over the Supreme Court’s order. “Mamata Banerjee should go to jail. She is the main beneficiary. Her nephew took a bribe of Rs 700 crore,” Adhikari alleged.
