KOLKATA: The West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) missed its 6 p.m. deadline on Monday to publish the lists of “tainted” and “untainted” teachers, sparking chaos outside its headquarters, Acharya Sadan, in Salt Lake.
Frustrated protesters, who said they had run out of patience, clashed with police and attempted to breach the barricades surrounding the SSC office multiple times. Rumors soon emerged that the SSC had introduced a new “cut-off” to differentiate the “untainted” from the “tainted.” According to this new criterion, only the first three of the 12 rounds of counseling held between 2017 and 2019 would be deemed valid, meaning teachers recruited in the fourth round and beyond would not be included in the list of “untainted” teachers.
The development sparked a day-long standoff, with protesters surrounding the SSC office and holding the chairman, Siddhartha Majumder, inside. The tension escalated with intermittent clashes between police and protesters. At one point in the evening, demonstrators even blocked food deliveries meant for Majumder and other officials.
The new information was disclosed to 13 representatives of the protesting teachers during a meeting with Majumder on Monday evening, adding fuel to the already volatile situation.
