A Calcutta High Court single-judge bench canceled the jobs of 313 teachers in GTA-run schools in Darjeeling, Kurseong, and Kalimpong over recruitment irregularities. In response, the teachers' union called an indefinite strike affecting 360 schools. The GTA plans to appeal, while the court ordered the West Bengal CID to continue investigating and stopped teachers' salaries immediately.

Kolkata: A total cease-work has started by the teachers attached to 360 Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA)-run schools spread across the hill regions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong in the northern sector of West Bengal from Thursday, after a single-judge bench of Calcutta High Court cancelled jobs of 313 teachers

The HC cancelled the jobs of the teachers attached to these GTA-run schools on Wednesday.

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The indefinite cease-work call has been given by “Sanyukta Madhyamik Shikshak Sangathan (United Secondary Teachers’ Association)”, a body of secondary teachers attached to different state-run schools in the state.

The association general secretary, Santosh Kharka, has said that the indefinite cease-work will continue even if there is a scheduled examination or announcement of results in any of the 360 GTA-run schools in the hills.

“The flaw in appointment irregularities was on the part of the West Bengal Education Department and GTA, which is an autonomous body. Why will the teachers suffer for that? If any GTA-run school initiates any action to forcefully end the cease-work, our association will not be responsible for that," he said.

Meanwhile, the GTA is considering approaching a higher bench of the Calcutta High Court against the single-judge bench order on Wednesday.

The GTA chief executive and the founder of Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), Anit Thapa, told the media persons that he will adopt all possible ways to ensure justice for the 313 teachers who have lost their jobs following the order of the single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court.

On Wednesday, the single-judge bench of Justice Biswajit Basu ordered the cancellation of the jobs of the 313 teachers in the GTA-run schools on grounds of recruitment irregularities and also observed that all these recruitments were made illegally.

At the same time, the bench also directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the West Bengal Police to continue its investigation into the matter.

Justice Basu further observed that the salaries of the 313 teachers should be stopped immediately.

He questioned why expenditure for paying salaries to illegally appointed teachers should be borne by the state exchequer.

Justice Basu also raised questions over the academic qualifications of the 313 teachers whose appointments were found to be illegal.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)