Hundreds of teachers and non-teaching staff from state-aided secondary and higher secondary schools, who recently lost their jobs following a Supreme Court verdict that found irregularities in the appointment process, staged protests across North Bengal on Wednesday demanding justice and reinstatement.

Protesters gathered outside the offices of the district inspector of schools (DI) in several districts, locked gates, and submitted written appeals. Claiming they were genuine and eligible candidates, they said they were being unfairly punished due to administrative lapses.

Advertisement

In Siliguri, more than 300 affected teachers marched from Hasmi Chowk to the DI office. After a brief standoff with the police, they locked the office gate and began a sit-in protest. They raised slogans such as “We want justice,” “Reinstate us without conditions,” and “We won’t sit for exams again.”

In Cooch Behar, tensions flared as the police tried to stop the protest. A few teachers reportedly fell ill during the scuffle. Teachers from Alipurduar also joined in. The situation eased after the DI came outside, received their appeals, and assured them that the demands would be forwarded to the School Service Commission (SSC), the Board, and the education department.

Malda saw the largest gathering, with over 1,000 teachers and staff entering the DI office premises and locking its gate. Police from English Bazar police station soon arrived, cleared the premises, and urged the protesters to maintain peace and not take the law into their own hands.

The protesters demanded the publication of a list of eligible candidates, restoration of jobs without conditions, release of salaries, and recognition of their service. They also requested that the eligible list be presented before the Supreme Court for review and possible reinstatement.

Several female teachers, who lost their jobs following the court verdict, broke down before the media while sharing their personal hardships. Speaking with visible distress, they described the financial and emotional toll the situation has taken on their families.

“We have children, elderly parents, and other dependents relying on us,” said one of the teachers in Siliguri. “After years of service, our income has suddenly stopped. We’re struggling to run our households and facing a daily crisis of survival.”

Another teacher, holding back tears, added: “We were appointed through the 2016 panel, and we believe we were selected on merit. If the state does not act urgently to separate the genuine candidates from the flawed list, we will be left with no option. Some of us are even thinking of taking extreme steps like ending our lives. We feel completely abandoned.”

The teachers urged the state government to take immediate steps to identify and reinstate eligible candidates, warning that the prolonged uncertainty was pushing many to the brink of despair. Their plea added an emotional urgency to the protests, highlighting the human cost of administrative lapses and the fallout of the controversial recruitment process.