Jobless West Bengal teachers march to Delhi

A section of teachers on way to Delhi from West Bengal. Pic/PTI

A section of teachers rendered jobless by a recent Supreme Court verdict began their journey to Delhi on Monday to broaden their agitation beyond West Bengal.

The teachers plan to hold a sit-in at Jantar Mantar on April 16. Mehboob Mondal, one of the spokespersons for the ‘Deserving Teachers' Rights Forum,' said around 70 affected teachers "dismissed following the Supreme Court's April 3 order scrapping 26,000 teaching and non-teaching jobs" left from Kolkata's Esplanade area in two buses.

"Our protest is against the sacking of eligible teachers who had cleared the 2016 SSC recruitment test purely on merit. Despite this, we've been unfairly clubbed with those involved in corruption. The apex court declared the entire process vitiated. What are we supposed to do now?" Mondal said.

He added that the state's offer to allow the terminated staff to work voluntarily has found few takers. "We want to present our side before the people in the national capital. Several prominent persons have expressed support and plan to visit us during the sit-in," he said.

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