Bengal: Job seekers stage demonstration seeking immediate recruitment in primary schools

Kolkata, Aug 19 Asking the Mamata Banerjee-led government in West Bengal to start the recruitment process in primary schools, job seekers on Tuesday staged a demonstration in Kolkata's Salt Lake area.

A protest took place a day after members of the Unemployed Qualified Teachers Forum called off a march to the School Service Commission's (SSC) office in the same area after the police detained its convenor Suman Biswas, claiming that they had planned to organise a violent movement.

On Tuesday, a large number of youths, who had cleared the Teachers' Eligibility Test (TET) in 2022, took part in the protest.

They alleged that the state government has failed to start the recruitment process, as over 50,000 primary teachers' posts are lying vacant in state-run schools.

The protesters began their march from outside the metro station in the afternoon for the APC Bhawan, the headquarters of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education.

However, policemen deployed at the site detained the protesters and put them in prison vans or buses. Due to the scuffle between policemen and protesters, traffic movement was disrupted in the area..

"We have been deprived of legitimate jobs. We have cleared the exam, but are jobless as the state government has not started the recruitment process. So many posts are lying vacant. How long are we supposed to wait?" said one of the protesters.

Meanwhile, members of the Students Federation of India (SFI), the students wing of CPI(M) staged a protest outside Bikash Bhaban (headquarters of the state Higher Education Department) in the Salt Lake area, demanding the immediate start of the admission process in colleges and publication of West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE) results.

SFI members, however, were quickly detained by cops deployed in huge numbers in the area due to back-to-back demonstrations.

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