Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met with teachers who lost their jobs after the Supreme Court upheld the Calcutta High Court order to cancel the appointment of over 25,000 staff in Bengal schools by the School Service Commission (SSC) in 2016 and alleged that there is a “conspiracy” going on to destroy the education system.
“There is a conspiracy going on to destroy the education system. Teachers of classes 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th are the gateways to higher education…Many (teachers) are gold medalists, they have achieved great results in their lives, and you are calling them thieves. You are calling them incompetent, who gave you this right? Who is playing this game,” Mamata Banerjee said.
The West Bengal CM further said, “The decision that has come cannot be taken in a positive way. For what I am saying, I may be put in jail but I don’t care about that. The Supreme Court has not yet given the list of those who are eligible and have lost their jobs.”
She further said that as long as she is alive she is not going to let any deserving person lose their job.
“The Supreme Court has not given the list of deserving and ineligible. The state government did not get the opportunity to separate this list. Abhishek Manu Singhvi had fought the case on behalf of the student and we had supported him. Now Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Kapil Sibal, Kalyan Banerjee, Prashant Bhushan, and Rakesh Dwivedi have been asked to look into this matter on behalf of the state government,” she added.
Mamata Banerjee further said that it is the government’s responsibility to ensure employment for those who are eligible.
On April 3, the Supreme Court upheld the Calcutta High Court’s decision to quash the recruitment of more than 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff by the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) in 2016 for the state-run and aided schools.
The bench of Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar found that the selection process carried out by the West Bengal SSC was based on large-scale manipulations and fraud.
“In our opinion, this is a case wherein the entire selection process has been vitiated and tainted beyond resolution. Manipulations and frauds on a large scale, coupled with the attempted cover-up, have dented the selection process beyond repair and partial redemption. The credibility and legitimacy of the selection are denuded”, the apex court bench stated in its judgement.
The top court’s verdict came on a petition filed by the West Bengal government that challenged an April 2022 order of the Calcutta High Court which had cancelled the recruitment of more than 25,000 teachers and other staff for state-run and aided schools. The top court had reserved its verdict in the matter on February 10.
