School job aspirants take out rally in Kolkata seeking immediate appointments

KOLKATA: Members of at least nine organisations representing school job aspirants, who claimed to have cleared eligibility tests, took out a massive rally here on Monday seeking Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's intervention for immediate appointments.

Starting from Sealdah around 12.30 pm, the procession of hundreds of demonstrators, including candidates of Teacher Eligibility Test and School Service Commission exam, marched till the Y-Channel in Esplanade, inconveniencing several city dwellers on the first day of the week.

A senior police officer said the rally was peaceful, and the traffic flow was limited to one side of the road in the central part of the city for some time during the day. Some of the demonstrators also staged street plays to press for their demand. Educationist Miratun Nahar was among those who also joined the march in support.

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"We have successfully cleared the tests and are eligible for a government job. There are examples where people have managed to get the job despite not having cleared exams. We want immediate placements... the CM must intervene and do something," one of the protesters said.

Irregularities have been detected in recruitment of teachers and Group-C and Group-D staff in state-government and –aided schools of Bengal, with the Calcutta High Court, earlier this year, instituting CBI probe into the cases. Several politicians and officials, including former state minister Partha Chatterjee, have been arrested in connection with the scams.