Kolkata, May 30 (IANS) Despite the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) issuing notifications on Friday morning for fresh recruitment of teachers for secondary and higher secondary schools, hundreds of “untainted” or “genuine” teachers — whose appointments were cancelled by the Supreme Court last month — have vowed to continue their protests.

These teachers, though declared “untainted” by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), have found themselves in limbo after the Supreme Court annulled the entire panel of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching appointments.

The court took the step after the state government failed to publish a segregated list distinguishing “untainted” appointees from those who allegedly secured jobs through corrupt means.

This failure to act, the protesting teachers say, has cost them their livelihoods and dignity.

“The core of our protest is this — why should genuine teachers like us, who have served with integrity for years and have been cleared by the CBI, be forced to sit for the examination again? And why did the government not publish the segregated list in time?” said a representative of Jogyo Shikshak-Shikshika Adhikar Mancha (Genuine Teachers’ Rights Forum), the umbrella body leading the movement.

The forum argues that the government’s reluctance to publish the list points to an attempt to shield the “tainted” rather than protect those who are innocent.

“This delay proves the government is more interested in protecting those who paid for jobs than in safeguarding the rights of genuine teachers like us. We’ve been left with no choice but to continue our protest,” the representative said.

As part of their ongoing agitation, the forum will organize a “March to the State Secretariat” rally on Friday. Protesters plan to keep parts of their bodies bare as a symbolic act to reflect the vulnerability and humiliation they feel.

“Our jobs and dignity have been stripped from us. So as a mark of symbolic protest, we will bare parts of our bodies during the rally to reflect that reality,” said Chinmay Mondal, convenor of the forum.

The teachers have been protesting on the streets for weeks, demanding reinstatement or at least exemption from the fresh recruitment process, citing their clean records and years of service.

–IANS

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