PTI, KOLKATA, APRIL 22, 2025 : Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday urged protesting teachers who lost their jobs following a Supreme Court ruling to return to work, assuring them that her government will “protect” their salaries.
Thousands of teachers on Tuesday continued their overnight protests outside the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) headquarters in Salt Lake.
“You don’t need to worry about who is tainted and who is not. You only need to worry about whether you have your job and whether you are getting your salaries on time. The list to identify the tainted and untainted teachers remains with the government and the courts. We assure that your jobs are safe for now and you will get your salaries. Please return to your schools and resume classes. I have spoken about this several times since last night. We are with you,” Mamata said at an administrative programme in Midnapore.
The Chief Minister also said a review petition for Group C and Group D staff, who have lost their jobs, will be filed before the Supreme Court, and urged teachers to “keep your faith in us till then.”
Mamata further warned the protesting teachers not to fall prey to provocation.
“Had I been in Kolkata, I could have solved the issue within seconds. Do not pay heed to those who are provoking you. Let the state government look after it,” she said.
Referring to “similar developments in Uttar Pradesh and Tripura,” she added:
“People have lost jobs in those states in huge numbers and never got them back. Don’t let that happen here.”
The agitators were among nearly 26,000 teaching and non-teaching staff whose appointments were invalidated by the apex court on April 3, citing “widespread irregularities” in the 2016 recruitment drive.
Braving the scorching sun, the protesters — numbering over 2,000 — surrounded the WBSSC headquarters, denying entry and exit to officials, including its chairman Siddhartha Majumdar, who has been inside the building since Monday evening.
The agitating teachers have been demanding that the commission publish the list of candidates who were recruited on the basis of merit, and those who got appointments by allegedly paying bribes.
Meanwhile, asserting that the state government was firmly with the school teachers who lost their jobs, Education Minister Bratya Basu on Monday urged them to refrain from doing anything that might weaken the review petition which the state was planning to file in the Supreme Court.
Addressing a press conference, Basu said the School Education Department is working to ensure that those deemed eligible can continue with their jobs in accordance with the court’s order.
“The state government is with the agitating teachers. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has assured all sorts of help. We are working in the interest of those who lost their jobs and will continue to do so,” he said. “We are filing a review petition. So, I request the agitating teachers not to act in any way that may weaken our petition, violate the Supreme Court’s order, or result in contempt of court by them or us.”
On April 3, the Supreme Court invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and staffers in state-run and aided schools, calling the entire selection process “vitiated and tainted.”
“According to the Supreme Court verdict, eligible teachers have been requested to continue in their schools till December 31. Our department is working on the salary issue, and we are taking responsibility to resolve it. The SSC case will come up for hearing in the division bench of the Calcutta High Court tomorrow,” Basu added.
“We have the data with us, and we are working accordingly. Please do not do anything or compel us to do anything that could go against you during the review petition,” he said, responding to the protests outside the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) office in Salt Lake.
