The teachers have been asked to return to school, but they still have to prove their merit.

Teachers at Esplanade’s Y-channel who were demanding their jobs back said
they were against writing an exam all over again because that questions their credentials.

Several non-teaching staff at the Y-channel looked forlorn and loath to speak. The Supreme Court had not offered them the window of hope that it opened for the teachers.

Metro spoke to many. Three of them below:

Kuheli Gonra, 35

English teacher at Mirikpur Gunodhar Balika Vidyalaya, East Midnapore

A single mother, Kuheli Gonra has been leaving her five-year-old daughter with her mother in Uluberia, Howrah, and taking a train to the city to join other teachers and school staff protesting since April 9.

The “uncertainty” remains even after the court’s relief, she said.

“If the court asks us, we will return to school. But does that return my honour? I am still expected to write a test to prove my merit.”

Gonra taught English to Classes IX and X at Mirikpur Gunodhar Balika Vidyalaya in East Midnapore.

“The fight is far from over. If I don’t qualify after the exam, I have no one to turn to for support. I have to look after myself, my daughter and my ageing mother. I can’t expect my mother to earn a living for us now,” she said.

The court has asked the school service commission to complete the recruitment process of teachers and non-teaching staff at government-aided schools
by December 31.

“If by December 31, the recruitment is not completed or I don’t get selected, where will I go? It’s cruel to people like us,” Gonra said.

Arpita Pramanik, 35

Geography teacher at Kanthalberia Harakumar Vidyaniketan, Nadia

Pramanik waited for three years after her postgraduation and BEd to write the state-level selection test.

“In those three years, from 2013-2016, I gave my best efforts to clear the exam. With so much uncertainty now, my present mental state and at this age, how will I be able to write an exam?” she asked.

“We are expected to join school. That means we now have to teach, take regular classes, correct answer scripts and then also prepare for an exam. Even if I try, I would not be able to give time and attention to my studies. If I am to do that, it would have to be prioritising myself over my students,” she said.

Pramanik did her postgraduation in geography from Krishnanagar Government College in 2012 and her BEd in 2013.

She was teaching geography to Classes IX and X at Kathalberia Harakumar Vidyaniketan in Nadia.

She has a personal loan of ₹7 lakh, for which the EMI is ₹16,000. “If I want the salary, I will have to go back to school,” she said.

Satyajit Dhar, 34

Non-teaching employee at Madarpur Subhas High School, North 24-Parganas

Satyajit Dhar had quit a Group D job in the railways in November 2017 because he had received confirmation to join as a Group C staff at a government-aided school.

He joined Madarpur Subhas High School in North 24-Parganas in April 2018.

Dhar is a BTech in computer science from Narula Institute of Technology.

After serving for almost seven years, Dhar was rendered jobless on April 3 as the Supreme Court upheld the Calcutta High Court order that terminated the jobs of all teachers and non-teaching staff who had got their jobs following the 2016 state-level selection test.

After Thursday’s verdict, many teachers protesting with Dhar at the Y-channel were preparing to return to school. Dhar was still jobless.

“If a school cannot function without teachers, it cannot function without us, either. I manage the school ledger, the government schemes that students are eligible for and also upload the marks of students,” he said.

The sole breadwinner in a family of four, Dhar has to spend a large amount on his parents’ treatment.

“My mother has had a stroke, and my father has Parkinson’s and requires physiotherapy. I have to pay almost ₹12,000 every month for their medical expenses,” he said.