Police detain teachers protesting against Bengal government's fresh recruitment notification
The West Bengal government issued a notification announcing a new State Level Selection Test for the recruitment of teachers for State-run schools, after the Supreme Court on April 3 cancelled the 2016 recruited panel over widespread occurrence of fraud. The apex court had directed the government to initiate fresh recruitments by May 31.
On Friday, police detained protesters from various parts of the city who were reportedly on their way to join the rally. Hundreds of protesters were apprehended from places like Sealdah and Esplanade in Central Kolkata, and from outside the State education department headquarters in Bidhannagar.
Shubhojit Das, a member of the Jogyo Shikkhok Shikkhika Adhikar Mancha (JSSAM), claimed that protesters were asked to show identification and were detained from public places like buses, shops, shopping malls etc.
'We had decided to hold a shirtless rally to the State Secretariat at Nabanna today. We wanted to convey our message directly to the Chief Minister because we think our message is not reaching her. However, several of us were detained before the rally could even properly take off,' Mr. Das told The Hindu.
The march to Nabana was also to protest the temporary detention of the six teachers who had demanded to meet the Chief Minister on Thursday, and to seek justice for the teacher who reportedly passed away of 'stress-induced stroke' during the protests, he added.
Speaking about the detentions, Divisional Commissioner of Police (Central) Indira Mukherjee said, 'We had no information of any gathering or protest in my jurisdiction (Esplanade) area. Because this is a restricted area, we took necessary action… Law and order is our subject, but if the teachers take law and order into their own hands, then we will have to take action.'
According to the new recruitment notification, applications were to be submitted between June 16 and July 14 this year. The exam and interview would be held between September and November.
'We are not at all happy about this new notification being issued. We were selected in an honest manner once, so we will not appear for re-examination. We want our jobs to stay as they were,' Hanjela Sheikh, a protesting teacher, said.
He added that his fellow protesters were also aggrieved that the government had announced deadlines for a fresh process before the Supreme Court decide on the State's review petition.
'Instead of making us appear for re-examination, the government could have rescreened the OMR sheets from the 2016 panel to bring forth a new merit list if necessary,' Mr. Sheikh suggested.
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