BY TC News Desk
Agartala, September 16, 2023: A group of 10,323 teachers who were terminated by the Tripura High Court in 2017 staged a protest in front of Shiksha Bhavan here, the office of the Education department on Saturday. They submitted a deputation to the Director of Education, demanding their reinstatement before the upcoming Durga Puja festival.
The teachers, who are members of the Joint Movement Committee (JMC), said that they have been waiting for six months since the assembly elections for the state government to publish the report of the Advisory Committee formed by the Chief Minister. The report is supposed to suggest ways to rehabilitate the sacked teachers and orient them to their respective schools.
The JMC also demanded the implementation of the verdict in Arijit Dey’s case, which ordered the state government to provide alternative employment to 8,882 teachers within two months. The verdict was issued by a division bench of the Tripura High Court on March 29, 2021.
Bijoy Krishna Banik, a leader of the JMC, said that they hope that the state government will play a positive role in the interests of the unemployed teachers. He also said that during the election campaign, Minister Sushanta Chowdhury had assured them of reinstating them by rectifying the errors in the recruitment process.
The 10,323 teachers were recruited by the previous Left Front government in three phases between 2010 and 2014. However, their appointments were challenged in court by some candidates who alleged irregularities and nepotism. The Tripura High Court quashed their appointments in 2017 and upheld its decision in 2018. The Supreme Court also dismissed their appeals in 2019 and 2020.
