Rahul Gandhi Writes to President on Bengal Teachers’ Job Crisis

Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has written to President Droupadi Murmu, urging her intervention to safeguard the employment of candidates who were fairly selected as school teachers in West Bengal. The move comes in the wake of the judiciary's decision to cancel the teacher recruitment process, leaving thousands jobless.

In a letter dated April 7, Gandhi stated that a delegation from the Shikshak Shikshika Adhikar Mancha had approached him, seeking his support in highlighting the plight of affected teachers. "I write to request your intervention in the case of thousands of qualified school teachers in West Bengal who have lost their jobs due to the judiciary's cancellation of the teacher recruitment process," Gandhi noted in the letter, attaching a copy of the delegation's representation.

The Calcutta High Court had earlier found serious irregularities in the recruitment process and declared it null and void. On April 3, the Supreme Court upheld this decision, reinforcing the judgment against large-scale manipulations in hiring by the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC).

Expressing concern over the impact of the ruling, Gandhi highlighted that both tainted and untainted teachers had lost their jobs. "Any wrongdoing in recruitment must be condemned, and those responsible must be brought to justice. However, treating teachers selected through fair means on par with tainted ones is a grave injustice," he asserted. He further pointed out that many of these untainted teachers had been serving for nearly a decade, and their termination would not only demoralize them but also disrupt the education system by leaving classrooms understaffed.

"Madam, you have served as a teacher yourself. I am sure you understand the enormous human cost of this injustice—to the teachers, their families, and their students. I urge you to consider their request favorably and appeal to the government to ensure that those selected through fair means are allowed to continue in their roles," Gandhi wrote.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met with the dismissed teachers on Monday, alleging that a conspiracy was underway to undermine the education system. "Teachers of Classes 9 to 12 serve as gateways to higher education. Many of them are gold medalists and have excelled in their fields. How can they be labeled as incompetent or dishonest? Who is playing this game?" she questioned.

Banerjee assured the affected teachers that she would fight to protect their jobs. "As long as I am alive, I will not let any deserving person lose their job. The Supreme Court has not provided a list distinguishing between deserving and ineligible candidates. The state government was not given an opportunity to separate them," she stated. She further revealed that legal experts, including Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Kapil Sibal, Kalyan Banerjee, Prashant Bhushan, and Rakesh Dwivedi, had been engaged to examine the case on behalf of the state government.

The Supreme Court’s verdict on April 3 upheld the Calcutta High Court’s 2022 decision to cancel the recruitment of over 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff in state-run and aided schools. The bench, led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, ruled that the entire selection process had been irreparably compromised. "Manipulations and frauds on a large scale, coupled with attempted cover-ups, have completely eroded the credibility and legitimacy of the recruitment process," the judgment read.

The verdict was delivered in response to a petition by the West Bengal government challenging the High Court’s order. With the Supreme Court’s decision, the affected teachers now face an uncertain future, with political and legal battles continuing over their reinstatement.