Kolkata: Many among thousands of teachers across the state, affected by the recent Supreme Court order that invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and staffers recruited by the West Bengal School Service Commission in 2016 , have decided they would return to their school jobs from Tuesday.
The decision came after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addressed them at a large gathering at Netaji Indoor Stadium on Monday and assured them to continue to teach the students. She said the government has not sent them termination letters yet.
Debashis Dutta, a teacher from Nimgram Beluri High School in Murshidabad, said: “We were afraid even eligible teachers might be terminated but the CM gave us hope. I’ll return to school as she asked.”
Binoy Mondal of Baligeria Balika Vidyapith in Jhargram echoed cautious optimism.
“She has given us hope but unless we see the result in writing, we can’t be fully reassured. We don’t want to undergo any new tests or harassment. However, since she has asked us to return to school, we will comply,” Mondal said. Nairita Bhattacharya of Amta Girls’ High School said: “We are devastated to have lost our jobs, but we are holding on to the little hope she gave us. We’ll return to school.”
Md. Murshid Biswas, a maths teacher from Dadpur High School, Murshidabad, noted: “The state government hasn’t issued any termination notice yet, so we will continue working.”
Arunita Kundu, a teacher from East Burdwan, said: “The CM gave us hope and assured us a solution would be found. We are willing to return to school.”
However, not everyone was able to attend the meeting on Monday. Many teachers were stopped at the gates for not having entry passes, leading to brief chaos outside the stadium. Police had to step in to maintain order.
The passes were issued in advance to prevent anyone with “tainted” credentials from entering. Yet, several teachers who claimed to have valid documents, including OMR sheets, were turned away.
“I came with my OMR sheet but was told that all passes had already been distributed,” said a teacher from Srirampur Uttama Sundari Balika Vidyalaya, expressing disappointment.
Despite being denied entry, many teachers remained outside, glued to their phones, listening to the CM’s speech.