kolkata

IIE DIGITAL DESK : The emotionally charged protest at Karunamoyee Crossing in Salt Lake, Kolkata, candidates who qualified in the 2022 Primary Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) demanded immediate issuance of interview notices. Seven years after allegations of corruption stalled teacher recruitment, the Primary Education Council finally conducted the TET on December 11, 2022. Over a lakh aspirants cleared the examination, and results were released, yet three years later, no interview calls have been issued — prompting the agitators to take to the streets.

As the protest began, demonstrators converged near Karunamoyee metro station with slogans demanding fair treatment and timely interviews. Instead of a dignified dialogue, they faced a harsh police response. A candidate’s voice rose above the chaos as they lamented, “We too shall one day build society. Yet look how the police are treating us.” Several others described being yanked and manhandled into police vans, slamming the state’s treatment of desperate, unemployed youth.

The protesters accused the state education authorities of dragging their feet, leaving them in limbo despite clearing every formal hurdle. Their frustration echoed in the slogans that filled the intersection: “We gave the exam, we passed. Now we demand jobs.” The scene turned tense as police and marchers grappled while fears of being painted as troublemakers spread among the crowd.

This protest builds on earlier movements. In October 2022, those who had passed the 2014 TET but remained unrecruited staged sit-ins at the same location, demanding immediate appointments. Even then, police used force to disperse demonstrators, leading to arrests and heated criticism from political leaders and civil society. More recently, reform-minded groups noted the worsening teacher shortage in Bengal that has escalated dropout rates in schools and further destabilized education delivery.

Today's protest draws attention to the enduring failure of procedural clarity and political will. Candidates continue to pay the price of systemic delays in recruitment, even as rights to education and employment slip into stagnation. By blocking major intersections and raising collective voices, they are pushing authorities to act — to uphold both fairness and the social contract.

This protest is emblematic of the broader impasse in teacher recruitment in West Bengal. It underscores that repeated pledges, examination victories, and institutional reassurances mean little without follow-through. For these TET 2022 qualifiers, their struggle is not merely for careers—it’s about reclaiming dignity and trust from a system that seems to have abandoned them.