A pall of gloom has descended on the Ruhr of Bengal. Since the Honourable Supreme Court upheld Calcutta High Court’s earlier decision to invalidate 2016’s SSC panel, more than 500 teachers and non-teaching staff have lost their jobs overnight across Pashchim Bardhaman. Raniganj has had to bear the brunt of the shockwave, with one school, in particular, losing 12 teachers out of a 27-strong staff. As schools grapple with this sudden teacher shortage, questions are being raised about the future of the many thousands of students attending these institutions. 

The families of the affected are in a state of shock, staring at a bleak future with no immediate respite in sight. Senior members of the ruling Trinamool Congress Party have been tight-lipped on the most part, with remarks limited to blaming the BJP and CPIM for the ruckus. 

One disqualified teacher revealed, on condition of anonymity, how her life has turned upside down after the verdict. “Once a respected member of my community, I have become a pariah now. Earlier, my students and their parents used to call me for suggestions. Those calls have stopped entirely since that fateful day.” She claims she never paid a bribe to secure her position as a teacher. But she is being treated as a ‘tainted’ one, with hushed voices either pitying or blaming her for her predicament. There’s still confusion among the dismissed teachers as to whether they should organize sit-ins in front of major Government offices or not. So far, no major disruptive protests by them seem to be looming on the horizon, as has been witnessed in other parts of West Bengal. “We can see protests happening in places like Kolkata and Alipurduar. But we aren’t sure how to go about it here,” said another disqualified teacher looking to secure a private job already. 

My requests to speak to the BJP’s youth wing have gone unanswered so far. The younger members seem to be treading water, as no one wants to go beyond the party line to find a constructive solution to the crisis. One BJP youth wing leader commented on condition of anonymity, how there was a general lack of direction among the local party leadership in terms of fomenting a large-scale protest. “Teachers are the builders of our society, and we are forever indebted to them for their service. I cannot imagine them having to go through such a horrific situation. I want to help,” he said. 

Meanwhile, TMCP, TMC’s student wing, has jumped into action. They have planned protests in various parts of Durgapur in the scorching summer heat, and intend to use the students of Government-run colleges to fill in their ranks. Students have reported getting calls from party seniors demanding that they come to the protest marches. One student said, on condition of anonymity, that there was substantial pressure on first-year students of at least one State-run institution to attend the rallies. 

Amid all the commotion and sobs surrounding the situation, what remains to be seen is how the ruling party maneuvers through this unmitigated political disaster. There have been repeated calls from the disqualified teachers and the opposition for Mamata Banerjee’s government to furnish a list of valid and invalid candidates. But there’s a caveat. If such a list is at all furnished, TMC will have accepted its complicity in the whole issue. On the other hand, a delay in producing such a list will only compound the suffering of the genuine candidates.

The worst hit in this fiasco of political high-handedness and blatant corruption are the students. There couldn’t have been a worse time for the drama to unfold. With a new academic year in full swing, parents are questioning the timing of the Honourable Supreme Court’s decision. While they are sympathetic to the cause of the affected teachers and acknowledge the sanctity of our highest seat of law, they want to know if there are alternative provisions in place for the students of the worst-affected schools. So far, no stakeholder has come up with a contingency plan. 

These are very dark times for Durgapur and West Bengal at large. Inflation, lack of proper employment opportunities, and political arm-wrestling have left the common citizenry high and dry. The most respected members of our society have been reduced to a rabble of dissidents, fighting for survival on the streets. The withering of the academic backbone of a state is the worst thing that can happen to it. Sadly, that is the reality we must face now.

Disclaimer

Views expressed above are the author's own.

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