Jobless teachers gherao West Bengal education minister's office in Salt Lake

NEW DELHI: Hundreds of school teachers, who have been rendered jobless by a Supreme Court order, on Thursday staged protests in front of the state Education department office in Salt Lake demanding restoration of their jobs. The protestors gathered in front of Bikash Bhavan in Salt Lake, the office of the education minister, disrupting traffic movement.

Police put up barricades on the approach road to the office building, which the protestors tried to break through, demanding restoration of their jobs. The Supreme Court upheld a Calcutta High Court order that invalidated the appointments of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal, due to irregularities in the 2016 recruitment process.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced payment of monthly allowances on a temporary basis to Group C and Group D employees whose appointments were terminated by the Supreme Court in the wake of the cash-for-jobs scam in state-run schools.

Banerjee announced Rs 25,000 and Rs 20,000 to the jobless Group C and Group D employees, respectively, out of a newly launched West Bengal Livelihood and Social Security Scheme under the state labour department.. The scheme, which was approved by the state cabinet, would come into effect from April 1, 2025, the CM said.