West Bengal Recruitment Scam: 60 ‘untainted teachers’ in Delhi to protest job loss, plan review petition

NEW DELHI: Thirty-four-year-old Asraful Hoque had left his job with the West Bengal Police in 2017 and joined a school in Domkal, Murshidabad, in central West Bengal as a life science teacher. He is his family’s only earning member. Since early April, his future has been shrouded in uncertainty – the Supreme Court nullified the appointment of over 25,000 teachers, his among them, judging the recruitment process to be so corrupt, no part of it was salvageable.

Since then, the affected teachers have been protesting in the state. But on Monday, around 60 of them started on a 40-hour bus journey to make their voices heard in the power corridors of the national capital.

Holding posters of “Justice for Untainted Teachers of West Bengal” and “The untainted teachers are not responsible for the corruption”, 60 teachers staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in central Delhi. Over the course of the legal battle that followed the 2016 teacher recruitment, the West Bengal Staff Selection Commission had submitted numbers of suspected “irregularities” – the list of “tainted” cases of appointment. Their OMR sheets contained discrepancies or there was “rank jumping”.

The teachers have come from different districts and small towns of the state. While most will return, a few intend to stay back in Delhi to plan a review petition with their lawyers.

A bench comprising the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar had said, “In our opinion, this is the case where the entire selection process is vitiated and tainted beyond resolution. Manipulations and frauds on a large scale, coupled with attempts to cover-up, have dented the selection process beyond repair.”

West Bengal Job Scam: Teachers see a ‘dark future’

“Teaching job was better than that of the police. I was getting a school closer to the house and so, I took the job. With all sincerity I had appeared for the exam and the recruitment process. All we are saying is, because a few thousands don’t punish all of us. But the government doesn't want to leave those tainted people behind,” said Hoque, who is the only earning member in a family of five. He is a member of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and completed his Bachelor of Education in 2014, when it was a one-year programme. The West Bengal job scam unfolded on the watch of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government.

For 38-year-old Koushik Palit, the situation is even worse because his wife was also a teacher recruited after the 2016 exam and in the same boat as him. Palit was a mathematics teacher at Debpur High School in Debpur, Murshidabad and his wife taught chemistry at Hariharpara High School.

Palit got the job after working as a contract teacher for several years. He is also from the OBC category.

“We come from a small place so there is a teacher who is constantly in touch and advising us. From the very start I wanted to become a teacher and now look where we have landed because of inefficiency and corruption of some officials. Now the government is also trying to create a feud between the teachers and divide us. But we are determined to fight as our right has also been violated,” said Palit.

42-year-old Anindita Chowdhury was a topper in her college in genetics but now she is on the road. Her only concern is finding the funds to support her son’s education. Chowdhury was a life science teacher at Nagadi Obaidia High School in Nadia district.

“My son’s education is funded from my salary. My husband looks after other expenses and EMIs. He [son] will be giving his board exams next year and I am very worried. It is sad that the government wants to keep all of us in the same bucket, the ones who were honest and who have been tainted. The judgement is unlawful and we want the Supreme Court to review our case,” said Chowdhury. She brought her OMR sheet to Delhi.

The basic pay band of these teachers range between Rs.52,000 and Rs.53,0000 per month.

Chowdhury had appeared in the 2009 recruitment and was allotted a school but couldn’t join due to personal reasons. Then she appeared again in 2016 and this time, secured a job.

“91.5 % of teachers teaching in Class 9 and 10 are untainted and 85.53% of teachers teaching in Class 11 and 12 are as well, but why is everyone receiving the same treatment? Is that even fair?” asked Sheikh Ashad. He was teaching commerce at Rosulpur BM High School.

“No one would believe but we have submitted our documents almost 22 times for verification. When this has already been done, why are we getting punished?” he asked.

A member of the OBC, he was in Rank 3 for his category in the recruitment exams. He had left a permanent job in a primary school to teach high school. Hailing from Durgapur, he completed his undergraduate and postgraduate education from GD Goenka College of Commerce.

Recruitment exam on hold

In 2016, Moumita Biswas was yet to complete her Bachelor of Education (B.Ed degree), the necessary job qualification and so, she appeared in the recruitment job for a non-teaching position.

She was working at the Swami Vivekananda Sewa Samiti for Girls in North 24 Parganas, earning Rs 35,000 per month.

“The future is dark,” she said. “At this moment we can only be hopeful and are trying our level best. I hope the court looks at our situation and takes some pity. Since 2016 the recruitment has also been on hold.”

Palit also highlights that the recruitment is not on hold because of their case and protest as it is being shown. “The recruitment hold is because of a separate OBC A category case. We have nothing to do with it. It is the government which is not doing anything.”

The teachers are also wondering whether they will receive their salary for April.

Association and demands

The teachers have now come together as JSSAM (Jogyo Shikshak Shikshika Adhikar Manch) and intend to fight to have their jobs restored.

Their main demands include:

• Justice for the innocent

• Review of the judgement

• End to the mass cancellation as they have valid scanned copies of their OMR sheets

• Lawful segregation of the tainted and untainted as classified by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

After the Supreme Court judgment on April 3, the WBSSC sent the lists of “tainted” and “untainted” candidates to the higher education department.