Teachers missing from ‘untainted’ list stage protest near Mamata’s residence

Protesting teachers demand justice after being excluded from 'untainted' list, facing uncertain future and salary return orders.

Teachers and non-teaching staff who could not return to their schools after the April 3 Supreme Court order, which annulled the recruitment of nearly 26,000 employees, held demonstrations at Hazra crossing near Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s residence in Kolkata on Monday (April 28, 2025).

These were staff members who did not make it to the list of ‘untainted’ candidates prepared by the District Inspector of Schools. Those who found themselves on the unofficial list have headed back to work, halting their protests for the time being.

Protesters near Ms. Banerjee’s house raised concerns about their “uncertain future”. “Didi (Mamata Banerjee), please kill us. We cannot do this anymore. We have lost sleep over the way we are being belittled in front of the whole world,” a protesting teacher said.

According to sources, the teachers/candidates who were protesting on Monday allegedly had discrepancies in their Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets and that was why they did not make it to the ‘untainted’ list. This set of teachers has also been ordered by the Supreme Court to return all the salary they had drawn during their tenure at their respective jobs.

Also read | Retain school staff till new recruitment, Supreme Court tells West Bengal

The protestors called for justice and for the right to resume their work. They demanded that the Chief Minister intervene and address the crisis.

They clashed with the police, broke multiple barricades and staged their demonstrations on the road. A huge contingent of police were at the site to control the crowd and many of the protesters were detained.