Tue Jul 08 10:58:35 UTC 2025: **News Article:**
**West Bengal: Protesting Sacked School Staff Halt March, Demand Reinstatement**
**Kolkata, July 8, 2025** – Hundreds of former non-teaching staff members, previously employed in West Bengal schools, were stopped by police today as they marched toward the state secretariat, Nabanna, in Howrah. The protesters, who lost their jobs following a Supreme Court order citing widespread corruption in the 2016 School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment process, are demanding immediate reinstatement.
Braving inclement weather, the Group C and Group D employees began their march from Howrah Maidan, navigating waterlogged streets to reach Nabanna. They claim to be “untainted” by the corruption and were unfairly terminated. Despite their request for a meeting with the Chief Minister or Chief Secretary, authorities rejected the demand, leading to a standstill approximately three kilometers from their destination under the Bankim Setu.
“We hold the government responsible for our plight,” said Bikram Poley, spokesperson for the protesting group. “We expect that our Chief Minister or, in her absence, the Chief Secretary will reply to our questions, and we are holding this march to meet them at Nabanna.”
The protesters are calling for the immediate reinstatement of 3,394 non-teaching staff, claiming they are eligible and were not involved in any wrongdoing. They also demand the SSC publish a certified list of all “eligible and non-tainted personnel.”
The Supreme Court had earlier scrapped the entire 2016 SLST recruitment panel, annulling 25,753 appointments of teachers and non-teaching staff after finding widespread corruption. While the court allowed “untainted” teachers to continue until a new selection process is completed by December 31st, it offered no such relief to non-teaching staff, adding fuel to the current protests.
The situation remains tense as protesters vow to continue their demonstration until their demands are met.
First Piper 