WB school jobs 'scam': Teachers give ultimatum to govt to publish untainted appointees' list

Protesting school teachers, who claim to be “eligible” in the Supreme Court-scrapped 2016 SSC (School Service Commission) recruitment panel, on Monday gave an ultimatum to the West Bengal government to publish the certified list of “untainted” appointees from the discredited panel before the end of day.

The agitating teachers, who took out a march to the state secretariat Nabanna and were stopped by the police near Howrah Maidan, announced that they would remain on the streets and intensify their agitation if the government failed to publish the list within the stated deadline.

The declaration from the teachers came after a 20-member delegation held a meeting with senior officials of the state education department, which was briefly attended by chief secretary Manoj Pant and DGP Rajiv Kumar.

The teachers said the meeting that lasted around two hours, which was held at the Shibpur Police Lines in Howrah instead of the secretariat where the protesters were headed demanding an audience with chief minister Mamata Banerjee, yielded “no concrete assurances” from the government.

The protesters were sharply critical of Pant for having spared “not more than 10 minutes” for the meeting and leaving early, citing “other urgent appointments” in his schedule.

“The government claims it is sympathetic towards the cause of candidates who secured their jobs through fair means. Yet, its actions so far prove that it is more inclined towards those who undertook fraudulent means to gain appointments. We have told them to first publish the certified list of all untainted candidates by tonight. We are not moving from the streets till that is done,” said Chinmay Mondal, a protesting teacher.

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“We received no concrete assurances from the government about publishing that list. It only said it will look into our demand. Government officials are now holding a fresh round of talks among themselves. If it fails to honour our demand, then the chief minister must come here and tell us why she failed to do so,” added Mehboob Mondal, another agitating teacher.

Earlier in the day, a large number of "eligible and untainted" school teachers, whose appointments were annulled by the Supreme Court, scuffled with the West Bengal Police when their rally was stopped a few kilometres ahead of the secretariat.

The agitators, organised under the banner of 'Sikshak Adhikar Manch' (Teachers' Rights Forum), pushed and shoved against a human barricade set up by the personnel in uniform, leading to tension on the ground after protesters remained steadfast on reaching the secretariat and meeting the CM with their demands.

The protesters were finally stopped by the police with iron-wall barricades, which were earlier set up further ahead at Mullick Fatak on G.T. Road, with the law enforcers appealing through public address systems to not resort to any form of force or violence.

The agitators were seen engaging in verbal spats and repeated scuffles with the police in their efforts to move past the barricades, leading to occasional flare-ups.

The protesting teachers — insisting on publication of OMR sheets of the 2016 School Service Commission exams, a complete list of tainted and untainted candidates, and an unconditional reinstatement of their jobs, among other demands — sought a meeting with the chief minister for an official response.

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A massive contingent of lathi-wielding police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel, armed with water cannons and overhead drone vigilance, were deployed to stop the advancing protesters.

Multiple iron-wall barricades, some as high as 10 feet, were also set up at various points leading to the secretariat. The marching agitators defied the route which the police initially wanted them to take and stuck to G.T. Road in their attempt to reach their destination.

"We will not sit for any exam. We have been wronged and it is the responsibility of the government to reinstate us with our salaries in our original positions," another protesting teacher said.

The Supreme Court, in April, had scrapped the entire panel of teaching and non-teaching positions of the 2016 SSC exams on the grounds that large-scale corruption had rendered the selection process "tainted and vitiated" beyond redemption, leading to the termination of nearly 26,000 jobs.

While the court ordered a fresh selection process for the vacant positions, it directed the state government and the SSC that eligible applicants will have to participate in the process from scratch, including appearing for fresh exams.

Both the SSC and the state have announced their plans to move review petitions before the top court, but the stakeholders have unsuccessfully argued in the high court for allowing identified tainted candidates, who resorted to unfair means to secure jobs, to participate in the fresh selection process as well.

"We are not afraid since we stand for truth. The chief minister has consistently stood behind the tainted candidates. That's why she is shying away from meeting us and using her police force to stop us from reaching her office," a protester added.