A Supreme Court order on April 3, which upheld an earlier decision of Calcutta High Court had annulled the appointment of 25,752 teachers resulting in a major crisis in the West Bengal school education department.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
As protests continued to rage in the State, over the annulment of appointments of 25,752 teachers and non teaching staff, West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant on Wednesday assured the State government will file a review petition before the Supreme Court.
Emphasising that the State government stands with the affected teachers, Mr. Pant said that the State government has already filed a “clarificatory petition” where the West Bengal government has prayed for a status quo.
“We have filed a petition in the Supreme Court. Where we have said that everyone should continue working. We are also going for a review petition. In this case, the legal issues are being examined. We assure again that we are with you [affected teachers and non teaching staff],” the Chief Secretary said.
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A Supreme Court order on April 3, which upheld an earlier decision of Calcutta High Court had annulled the appointment of 25,752 teachers resulting in a major crisis in the West Bengal school education department. The challenge before the State government is to keep schools functioning in the State.
The Chief Secretary held a press conference after the affected teachers gathered outside the Office District Inspector of Schools in South Kolkata. The police resorted to force and used “baton charge” on the protesting teachers.
Urging teachers not to do not do :anything that will disrupt peace and order, Mr. Pant said that “teachers have a special role in society. We respect them”.
“We have sought an explanation from the Supreme Court. We are waiting for it. No one has been given a termination letter. We have to move forward keeping the Supreme Court’s verdict in mind. We should not give in to anyone’s provocation. We should not take the law into our own hands in any way,” the Chief Secretary said.
Meanwhile, State Education Minister Bratya Basu has given hints of a meeting between the affected teachers. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had met those whose appointments were cancelled and offered support to them. The Supreme Court had accepted the Calcutta High Court decision of cancelling appointment of over 25,000 people as the recruitment process by the West Bengal School Education Department was fraught with irregularities and it was difficult to distinguish “tainted” from “non tainted” candidates.
Published – April 09, 2025 10:24 pm IST
