Indefinite school shutdown in Darjeeling hills after Calcutta HC quashes appointment of 313 GTA teachers

All schools across the Darjeeling hills will remain closed indefinitely from December 18. The shutdown has been called by the Sanyukta Madhyamik Sikshak Sangathan (SMSS) in protest against a recent Calcutta High Court order. The ruling invalidated the appointment of 313 teachers under the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA).

The teachers’ body announced the decision, stating that the court’s ruling on teacher regularisation could have wide-ranging consequences for the region’s education system. The shutdown will affect government-aided schools in the GTA region, including institutions where annual examinations, result declarations, and academic programmes are currently underway.

In a press statement, SMSS General Secretary Santosh Khadka said that no formal recruitment rules had been enforced for secondary school teacher appointments in the Darjeeling hills for the past 25 years. He argued that in the absence of notified recruitment norms or eligibility examinations, volunteer teachers had been sustaining schools since 2002.

Teachers cite administrative lapses

According to the organisation, the continued engagement of volunteer teachers was the outcome of administrative lapses rather than individual fault. The statement held the erstwhile Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), the present GTA, and both the state and central governments responsible for the situation, and said teachers should not be penalised for systemic failures.

“Teachers should not be made to suffer punishment for this. The hills and the education system of the hills must not be crushed,” the official statement said.

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Calcutta HC quashes teacher appointments

The shutdown follows a judgment delivered earlier by the Calcutta High Court, which set aside the regularisation and state approval granted to 313 teachers appointed in government-aided schools in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts. The court held that the appointments lacked a valid recruitment process and did not meet statutory requirements.

The matter arose from a writ petition filed in 2023 challenging the legality of the appointments. During the proceedings, the court examined whether the teachers had been recruited through an authorised selection mechanism and whether mandatory qualifications, including professional training requirements, were fulfilled. As per the livelaw reports, the state government failed to provide a satisfactory justification for the approval granted to the appointments.

The court also took note of earlier government directives restricting the engagement of volunteer teachers without formal approval from the School Education Department. In previous hearings, the bench had questioned the financial implications of continuing salary payments for appointments made without legal backing.

SMSS warns of wider impact

Reacting to the verdict, SMSS warned that its impact may extend beyond the 313 affected teachers, potentially affecting retired educators, serving teachers, and volunteer staff across the hills. The organisation also expressed concern that vacancies in mother-tongue subjects could be filled by teachers from outside the region.

“Today’s verdict of the Calcutta High Court has created a situation that may, in the coming days, affect not only retired senior teachers of the Darjeeling hills but also serving teachers and volunteer teachers. Additionally, there is a possibility that teachers for mother-tongue subjects in the Darjeeling hills may be brought in from other regions,” the SMSS said.

As part of the first phase of its agitation, SMSS has directed all schools to suspend academic activities from December 18 till further notice. “If any unpleasant incident occurs due to any school disregarding the organisation’s call, the organisation will not be held responsible,” SMSS further said.