Govt to challenge Calcutta HC order cancelling 36,000 teachers’ jobs: Mamata Banerjee

“We have been getting appeals from the families of these 36,000 (teachers) who lost their jobs. I feel very bad. We have decided to move the division bench,” Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat.

Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court Monday granted permission to the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) to file an appeal against a single-bench order which cancelled the appointment of around 36,000 primary teachers in state-run schools.

“Some claimed that they did not attend training, but that’s not right. There was an order that everyone should take training within three years of entering the service and they took that,” she added.

“I will appeal to the unemployed to not be upset and get depressed. Our government is a humanitarian one. I will fight as far as legal means allow,” the CM added. The WBBPE’s lawyer Lakshmi Gupta submitted the appeal before a division bench presided over by Justice Subrata Talukdar seeking leave of the court to challenge the May 12 order of the single bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay.

The division bench, also comprising Justice Supratim Bhattacharya, allowed the board to file the appeal. The matter is likely to be heard on Tuesday.

On Friday, a single bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay had ordered the cancellation of the appointment of around 36,000 candidates who were untrained at the time of their recruitment as primary teachers in state-run schools, as due procedure was not followed in the appointment process.

The single bench, however, directed that those teachers who were employed following the recommendation of the board in respect of the 2016 selection process will be allowed to work for four months from May 12 “at a remuneration equal to a para teacher of a primary school”.

The court had also directed the board to arrange for a recruitment exercise to be conducted within three months only for the candidates who were a part of the 2016 appointment process. Candidates who have obtained training qualifications, in the meantime, will also be included in the exercise.ay 15

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that her government will challenge the Calcutta High Court order cancelling jobs of around 36,000 primary teachers in state-sponsored and -aided schools. She also urged those teachers who lost their jobs and their family members not to be depressed as her government is with them.

Speaking during a press briefing at Nabanna on Monday, the chief minister also alleged that those teachers lost their jobs because of the ongoing agitation of the state government employees demanding a hike in their DA and bringing it at par with the central government staff.

“We have been getting appeals from the families of these 36,000 (teachers) who lost their jobs. I feel very bad. We have decided to move the division bench,” Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat.

Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court Monday granted permission to the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) to file an appeal against a single-bench order which cancelled the appointment of around 36,000 primary teachers in state-run schools.

“Some claimed that they did not attend training, but that’s not right. There was an order that everyone should take training within three years of entering the service and they took that,” she added.

“I will appeal to the unemployed to not be upset and get depressed. Our government is a humanitarian one. I will fight as far as legal means allow,” the CM added. The WBBPE’s lawyer Lakshmi Gupta submitted the appeal before a division bench presided over by Justice Subrata Talukdar seeking leave of the court to challenge the May 12 order of the single bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay.

The division bench, also comprising Justice Supratim Bhattacharya, allowed the board to file the appeal. The matter is likely to be heard on Tuesday.

On Friday, a single bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay had ordered the cancellation of the appointment of around 36,000 candidates who were untrained at the time of their recruitment as primary teachers in state-run schools, as due procedure was not followed in the appointment process.

The single bench, however, directed that those teachers who were employed following the recommendation of the board in respect of the 2016 selection process will be allowed to work for four months from May 12 “at a remuneration equal to a para teacher of a primary school”.

The court had also directed the board to arrange for a recruitment exercise to be conducted within three months only for the candidates who were a part of the 2016 appointment process. Candidates who have obtained training qualifications, in the meantime, will also be included in the exercise. — PTI Inputs