West Bengal SSC Scam: Thousands of Dismissed Teachers Continue Protest on Third Consecutive Day

Kolkata: Thousands of dismissed teachers continued their sit-in protest outside the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) office in Salt Lake for a third consecutive day, braving heatwave. Many protesters, with no prior experience in activism, have taken to the streets after losing their jobs following an April 3 Supreme Court ruling that invalidated 25,753 appointments due to irregularities in the 2016 SSC selection process.

While the court granted interim relief to 15,400 teachers “not specifically found tainted,” allowing them to work until December 2025 pending fresh recruitment, the state has withheld public disclosure of the list, leaving names shrouded in suspicion.

Teachers have been asking the government to publish a clear, public list separating those guilty of corruption from those wrongfully punished.

'Government's stance has forced us to protest'

“We never had experience in sloganeering or giving speeches, but the government’s stance has forced us to protest. We now realise that sitting at home won’t resolve anything,” said Pallabi De, a teacher from Manindranagar Girls’ School in Murshidabad.

On Tuesday (April 22), the state education department, in a hush-hush administrative move, circulated the list of 15,400 teachers “not specifically found tainted” to district inspectors, instructing school headmasters to allow their return to classrooms.

This follows an April 17 Supreme Court directive permitting such teachers to work until December 31, 2025, pending fresh recruitment. The list, however, remains undisclosed to the public, effectively allowing these teachers to resume work without publicly clearing their names.

“We demand that the Commission publish the list of qualified and unqualified candidates online and provide each candidate with their OMR sheet. Those who secured jobs through bribery must be removed. The government announced on Monday that they won’t publish the list online – why? Are they afraid?” asked Siddhartha Mondal, a teacher from Govindpur Rajnagar High School.

Also Read: The Great Betrayal: The Human Cost of TMC's 'Vitiated' Recruitment Scam

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is in Medinipur to oversee the preparation before next week’s inauguration of the state-funded Jagannath Temple in Digha, asked the teachers to return back to work. She hinted at a potential review petition but sidestepped demands for transparency.

“Teachers shouldn’t worry about who is qualified or not; they should focus on their classes. We provide jobs, we don’t take them away. I’m reviewing what can be done legally,” said Banerjee. “You will get your salary according to the system.”

Addressing the media, Education Minister Bratya Basu said, “The Chief Minister supports those who lost their jobs. The matter is sub judice in the Supreme Court, which hasn’t ordered us to publish any list.”

State's refusal to disclose list of teachers who are not 'tainted' fuels anger

However, the state’s refusal to disclose the criteria and details behind this segregation has only fuelled suspicion and anger.

“We came here to know who is qualified and who isn’t, as per the government’s announcement. Instead, they are still trying to legitimise those who allegedly bought jobs with bribes,” said Ambarish Mondal, a teacher from Arvind Vidyamandir in Durgapur.

The crisis stems from the Supreme Court’s April 3 ruling, which annulled the appointments of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff recruited through the 2016 SSC selection process, citing widespread irregularities.

While partial relief was granted to teachers “not specifically found to be tainted,” Group C and D staff were left without recourse, leading to parallel demonstrations outside the state secondary education board office.

The state government has argued that sudden mass dismissals would cripple Bengal’s education system. Yet, instead of engaging with the protestors’ legitimate concerns, the state has responded with indifference. Police shut down public toilets and blocked temporary shelters, even stationing guards at apartment entrances. Local residents responded by offering their homes.

At the protest of the teachers, slogans urge the government to publish a clear, public list separating those guilty of corruption from those wrongfully punished. Photo: Joydeep Sarkar

Support for the teachers is growing. A few local businesses have defied police pressure to open restrooms. Despite community support, many teachers have fallen ill under the relentless 40°C heat and state-imposed hardships. On Wednesday (April 23), protestors allowed SSC Chairman to leave office after over 40 hours to appear before the Calcutta High Court.

“The root of the problem lies in the cash-for-posts policy that the TMC adopted in 2017 and thereafter. They gave appointments to people who were not recommended by SSC, they jumped ranks, they continued to hold counselling and give appointments even after the panel had lost its legal validity thereby creating a greater mess,” said former MP Jawahar Sircar who resigned from Rajya Sabha during RG Kar agitation.

“Now, in trying to  cover up these irregularities they are holding the future of the valid and meritorious candidates at ransom and getting deeper into the quicksand,” added Sircar.

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