Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi has written to President Droupadi Murmu urging her intervention in the matter related to thousands of qualified school teachers in West Bengal, who have lost their jobs following the cancellation of the teacher recruitment process.
He also requested the President to take necessary steps to ensure that candidates who were selected through fair means are allowed to continue.
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In his two-page letter dated April 7, a copy of which was uploaded on the social media on Tuesday by Gandhi, he wrote, “I write to request your intervention into the case of thousands of qualified school teachers in West Bengal who have lost their jobs due to the cancellation of the teacher recruitment process by the judiciary. ”
The Congress leader stated that a delegation from the Shikshak Shikshika Adhikar Mancha (IX-X), a platform for affected teachers, apprised him of the matter and specifically requested him to write to her.
“The Calcutta High Court found serious irregularities in teacher recruitment and declared the entire process null and void. On April 3, the Supreme Court upheld the High Court judgment. Since the verdict, the teachers, as well as the staff who stand to be terminated, have almost given up hope of any redressal,” he said.
Referring to the judgments of the High Court and the Supreme Court, Gandhi said, “Both judgments found that some candidates were untainted, selected through fair means, and some ‘tainted’ – selected through unfair means. Both tainted and untainted teachers have lost their jobs. Any crime committed during recruitment should be condemned, and the perpetrators must be brought to justice.”
He said treating teachers selected through fair means on par with tainted teachers is a serious injustice.
Stating that most ‘untainted’ teachers have served for nearly a decade, Gandhi said, “Terminating them will force lakhs of students into classrooms without adequate teachers. Their arbitrary termination will destroy their morale and motivation to serve, and deprive their families of what is often the sole source of income.”
“Madam, you have served as a teacher yourself. I am sure you understand the enormous human cost of this injustice – to the teachers, their families and their students,” he added.
