So far, more than 800 jobless 'qualified' teachers have not received interview calls for positions at either the ninth-tenth or eleventh-twelfth grade levels.
Following the Supreme Court verdict that resulted in 26,000 teachers and education workers losing their jobs in one stroke, fresh examinations were conducted for them as per court orders. After completing examinations at two levels, these 'qualified' teachers who did not receive interview calls are almost certain to lose their jobs after December 31. These 800 teachers have no answers to questions like why they face this 'punishment' despite committing no fault, and what they will do next.
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Reports suggest this number is increasing with each passing day. The list includes Rabindranath Saha, a history teacher working in Murshidabad. He has been 100 percent visually impaired since birth. After great struggle, he obtained higher education from Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission and later from Visva-Bharati before securing this job. He was the primary earner in his family, responsible for his elderly parents. Though he got the job nine years ago with excellent results, this time Rabindranath did not even receive an interview call. Consequently, his future now hangs in the balance.
Why couldn't he succeed? Rabindranath explains that compared to 2016, vacancies for ninth-tenth grades are significantly fewer this time. Moreover, his age has increased considerably in these nine years. In his words, 'I couldn't study properly. We visually impaired people need time to read new books and syllabi, which wasn't available. We can't just open books and read like others. Either we have to scan them on computer and listen with talkback enabled, or we have to request someone to read and record the books for us. Both are time-consuming. There wasn't time for either.'
The list includes Amitranjan Bhuiya, a Physical Science teacher. This same Amitranjan was severely beaten by police on April 11 while protesting at the DI office in Kasba. Police kicked him in the chest — that image still goes viral on Facebook. What will Amitranjan do now with his wife and daughter studying in Class Four? He doesn't know. He says, 'I'm still on the streets fighting for job restoration. After losing the job without any fault, despite having patience and tolerance nine years ago, can that concentration remain? I didn't get time to study. What I studied amid so much tension and worry wasn't sufficient either. I went to the examination center like a machine.'
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Another familiar face from the platform of 'qualified' jobless teachers, Anurag Kar, also features prominently on the list. He handles the platform's legal work. While fighting these legal battles, he has rushed to Calcutta High Court and sometimes to the Supreme Court in Delhi. Originally a resident of Jhargram, Anurag now teaches at a government-sponsored school in Lalgola, Murshidabad. He bears responsibility for his elderly parents at home. Many of his colleagues have been devastated upon receiving this news.
However, Anurag wrote on social media addressing them, 'Just because I didn't get the call doesn't mean our struggle has failed. The qualified teachers who received calls — that's the fruit of this struggle. To those who didn't get calls, I say the fight doesn't end here. Perhaps not everyone will stand by us. But we must stay together.'
