On April 3, 2025, the Supreme Court, in an unprecedented judgment, nullified the appointments of 26,000 secondary and higher-secondary government school teachers in West Bengal. These teachers were recruited through the West Bengal School Service Commission examination in 2016. Subsequent allegations of corruption in the recruitment process prompted a CBI-led investigation ordered by the Calcutta High Court in 2021. Following the CBI's report, the Calcutta High Court terminated these teachers in 2023. Since then, both the terminated teachers and aspirants for these vacant positions have protested on the streets, hoping for justice, while the central and state governments have remained largely apathetic to their plight.

This ruling is not only unprecedented in India but also contradicts the principles of the Indian Constitution, particularly the fundamental rights to life, livelihood, and employment. The judgment fails to critically examine the roles played by the central and state governments in this crisis and instead places the blame on deserving Indian youth. Furthermore, the ruling is ambiguous in several aspects. It orders corrupt individuals to return their salaries while exempting non-corrupt individuals, acknowledging that not all retrenched teachers were involved in corruption. However, despite the CBI investigation identifying corruption in only 14% of higher-secondary and 8% of secondary appointments, the entire 2016 recruitment panel was scrapped. This decision affects not only the 26,000 retrenched teachers and their families but also denies aspirants their right to employment. The government has failed to conduct any schoolteacher recruitment drives in West Bengal since 2016, jeopardizing the livelihoods of many and the public education system. Additionally, this verdict pits retrenched teachers against aspiring jobseekers at a time when unemployment is at its highest since independence.

The responsibility for this disaster lies with the Indian judicial system and the corrupt state government, both of which have shown apathy toward the people of West Bengal. While the TMC-led state government has refused to expose those involved in corruption in SSC recruitments, the BJP has ensured that all 26,000 teachers lose their jobs to settle political scores with the TMC. This unprecedented verdict, targeting all 26,000 teachers, sets a dangerous precedent where the livelihoods of a massive number of people are sacrificed for the political interests of those ruling at the centre. The verdict contains several contradictions and discrepancies. For instance, it clearly distinguishes between tainted and untainted candidates, yet cancels the entire panel, denying natural justice to untainted candidates who were not linked to any corruption according to the CBI report. This is a gross violation of the Constitution’s foundational principles, which ensure the right to life, livelihood, and employment as fundamental rights.

In West Bengal, the teachers who have lost their jobs and face uncertainty about their future have taken to the streets, erupting in dissent and demanding justice and reinstatement. A continuous sit-in protest is ongoing at Esplanade in the heart of Kolkata. Several protests and gherao programs have been organized near the School Service Commission office in Kolkata. On April 8, during one such protest held across various districts outside the District Inspector of School Education offices, the state police resorted to lathi charges, particularly in Kasba, Kolkata. Several teachers were injured, and many were arrested. Despite this state repression, the teachers remain resolute in their fight against unjust victimization and the stymying of their careers due to the corruption of political leaders and a politicized justice system under the BJP regime.

On April 16, a contingent of teachers staged a one-day sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, with members of the Democratic Teachers Initiative (DTI) in attendance. Comrade Uma from DTI delivered a stirring speech, expressing fervent solidarity.

A protest erupted on 22 April outside the SSC building in Salt Lake, where qualified teacher candidates demanded the immediate release of the “eligible–ineligible” list without any further delay or excuses.

The mass termination of teachers has significantly crippled West Bengal’s state education system. Most schools already have a skewed student-teacher ratio, falling far below the mandatory 30:1 ratio stipulated by the Right to Education Act. Many concerned citizens view this unjust termination as a deliberate attack on the state education system, which primarily serves students from poor and underprivileged backgrounds. Some believe this concerted attack on government education will pave the way for the privatization of education, further stigmatizing government and government-sponsored education, which is already plagued by corruption and inadequate infrastructure.

The teachers remain resolute in their fight to reclaim their jobs, which have been unjustly stripped from them. Their struggle is not only for their individual survival but also against rampant state-sponsored corrupt practices in government examinations, which are prevalent in exams ranging from the West Bengal SSC to the all-India NEET. Their fight is also against the growing nexus between the judiciary and politics under the RSS-BJP regime, which sacrifices the lives and livelihoods of innocent citizens for political gain.

Our solidarity lies with the thousands of job-seeking youth who have fallen prey to the corruption channels protected by the West Bengal state government, the CBI, and the Indian judiciary. We firmly believe that only a people’s movement can bring justice to the agitating teachers and job-seeking youth. We remain committed to supporting their movement to safeguard their jobs and will stand by all their efforts for justice. We are also dedicated to ensuring that the future of 26,000 teachers is not sacrificed in the power struggle between the central and state governments.