Kolkata (PTI): Around 1,000 ICT teachers working in government-aided schools in West Bengal demonstrated for over 12 hours close to the Education Department headquarters at Salt Lake near here on Monday, demanding regularisation of their jobs.
A section of them who remained on the road at around 11 pm said they would continue their sit-in for the rest of the night to press for their demand.
A spokesperson for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) teachers said their jobs are set to end on September 30 as they had been appointed through private agencies under a contractual arrangement.
"The agencies have also asked us to hand over all relevant documents to the concerned organisations by October 9. We face uncertainty," said Babai Ghosh, a spokesperson of ICT Aikyo Manch.
"At a time when people receive bonuses before Durga Puja, we are receiving termination letters," he said.
More than 3,000 computer teachers were appointed through several private agencies under five-year contracts a few years back.
While the tenure of some of them was due to expire this year, others were scheduled to complete their contracts in early 2027.
He said while the previous Trinamool Congress government had extended the tenure of teachers appointed under the first five phases of the recruitment process up to the age of 60 years, those hired in the sixth and seventh phases remained contractual.
"We demand the government intervene to protect our jobs and that our services be regularised or tenure extended," Ghosh said, urging either Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari or School Education Minister Dipak Barman to meet them for talks as, he said, they have high hopes from the new regime.
"We demand Rs 32,000 salary per month for contractual government teachers," he said, adding that ICT tutors receive only Rs 7,000 a month now.
Their protest near the key Karunamoyee crossing began around 11 am and continued till 11 pm, affecting vehicular traffic on one flank.
The protesters sat on one flank of the road, raising slogans like "we want justice" as a police force stood nearby.
The situation turned tense when some protesters lay down on the road and engaged in scuffles with police personnel while trying to proceed towards Bikash Bhavan, the Education Department headquarters.
"What will we eat this puja?" they shouted while banging empty plates on the road.
The police appealed to the protesters not to take the law into their own hands as some of them also tried to scale the locked gate of Bikash Bhavan and enter inside.
"We want to hand over our memorandum to the education secretary in a peaceful manner, but no one is listening," Ghosh, who works in a South 24 Parganas secondary school, said.
Meanwhile, barricades were put up around the area to prevent the protesters from moving towards the government offices as police reinforcements were kept on standby.
According to the Aikya Manch, around 3,719 computer teachers are engaged under Phases 6 and 7 through several agencies.
They alleged that despite having worked for several years, they continue to remain employees of private agencies instead of being brought under a direct government contractual arrangement.
"The teachers appointed under Phases 1 to 5 have already received the benefits of being appointed as government contractual employees. We have also been working for years, but continue to remain under the agency system," Ghosh said.
The teachers have demanded an end to the agency-based recruitment system and their direct engagement as government contractual employees.
The protest comes at a time when a fresh tender process is expected to follow.
This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.