As the Calcutta High Court on Monday cancelled the appointments of over 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff, made through the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) in the state government-sponsored and aided schools, many of those affected by the ruling now await a stay order on the same from the Supreme Court. A Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court Monday cancelled the appointments of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff. The court also ordered them to return their salaries with interest, and asked the state’s School Service Commission (SSC) to initiate a fresh appointment process. The verdict drew mixed reactions, wherein, some teachers and job seekers expressed relief, many expressed their disappointment over their uncertain future. Uncertain about his job security, Illias Biswas, a teacher at Sonapur BK High School, Alipurduar, said, “We can only hope for some temporary relief if the state government appeals to the Supreme Court for a stay order.” Disappointed that even deserving teachers are losing their jobs due to the “actions of a small percentage (around 10-12%)” of people, who allegedly obtained positions through corruption, Biswas told The Indian Express, “The situation could have been avoided if the state government had identified and addressed the irregularities within the recruitment panel instead of attempting to shield undeserving candidates.” Upset by the court order, he boarded a train from Alipurduar back to his home in Nadia district. The High Court bench, presided over by Justice Debangsu Basak, ruled on Monday that the OMR sheets, used in the 2016 recruitment process for Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), State Level Selection Test (SLST) 2016 and Groups C, D, had been tampered with. The decision rendered all appointments made through that process invalid. Rajarhat resident Saddam Hossain, got appointed in January last year as a teacher at Gobindapur High School, in Gosaba, in South 24 Parganas district, which is nearly 105 kilometres away from his house. “Yes, as per this order I have lost my job, but I’m not panicking. Maybe it is for good. There are people like us who got appointments in schools far from our houses. Now, after the cancellation of the entire panel and if all the candidates who got jobs through corrupt practices are removed, we might go up in the list and may get appointed near our areas,” said Hossain. Failing to get an appointment for many years, SSC candidate Rustam Ali, after the HC order said, “This is very unfortunate. For many years, we have been protesting for jobs, and have been sitting on the streets, hoping for the best. Our intention was never to snatch someone's job, especially from those who have got the job based on their merit.” “Through this order, the court has punished the deserving people, it is wrong if even one deserving candidate loses their job. The court should have given the verdict only against those who had obtained the job by wrong means. Despite my name being in the recommendations for the last two years, I haven't got the job. As long as Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay was there, there was some hope, but with him entering into politics, the entire matter has taken a different direction,” Ali said. Welcoming the court order, Ganpati Mondal, who cleared the TET in 2016 but did not get any appointment till date said, “It will be a learning lesson for those who got the job by unfair means. We hope that in the process deserving candidates should not lose their jobs and opportunities.” The high court, however, made an exception in the appointment of Soma Das. On the orders of Justice Basak and Justice Mohammad Shabbar Rashidi, the job of Soma Das, who is suffering from cancer, remains intact. Responding to the court’s order, Soma said, “Our demand was never for one person's job, instead our fight sought for the rights and jobs of eligible deserving candidates. Today's judgment of the High Court has proved that there was corruption in the recruitment process. We are job seekers. Until all those who deserved the job get it we can't say the fight is over.” Das also said, “There are many qualified teachers in the canceled panel, their jobs are also in question. I hope they get their jobs back.”
