Baby Chakraborty, KalimNews, April 8, 2025, Kolkata : West Bengal’s educational landscape is facing a significant crisis following the recent Supreme Court verdict, which has led to the cancellation of 25,752 teacher appointments, severely impacting hundreds of schools across the state. The state’s education system is already grappling with a teacher shortage, and the latest ruling has worsened the situation, leaving many schools struggling to maintain basic operations.
One such institution is Binodini High School Girls’ School in Chinchura, Hooghly, which is currently in a state of crisis. With a student body of about 1,150, the school is already operating with a reduced staff, after the layoff of three teachers and several non-teaching staff members. The headmistress, Moumita Pal, explained that the remaining teachers are now shouldering both administrative and teaching duties, in addition to their regular responsibilities. She noted that the school, which has three departments for grades five to ten, requires at least 22 teachers to run effectively. Currently, the school has just 31 teachers, but the shortage of subject-specific teachers—particularly in English, Mathematics, and Chemistry—has created additional pressure.
Other schools in the state, including Sailaja Memorial Girls’ High School in Lalgola, Murshidabad, are also facing severe staffing shortages. Headmistress Kakoli Chowdhury expressed concern over the employment of 18 teachers being canceled, leaving her school of 4,000 students without adequate faculty for essential subjects such as Biology, Physics, and Chemistry. With unit tests underway, she questioned how the school would continue to conduct examinations and maintain academic standards.
This crisis extends beyond a few schools. In other regions like Bhagabangola and Farakka, the impact of the Supreme Court’s order has been widespread. At Orahar Girls’ High School, eight out of 19 teachers have lost their jobs, and headmistress Najmun Nahar fears the school may struggle to operate once the official notifications are issued. Sekhalipur High School in Lalgola has also been hit hard, with the loss of teachers in crucial subjects like Geography and Physics. Headmaster Sahin Saraf noted that teachers at his school are vital not just for academics but also for implementing various government schemes, such as Kanyashree.
At Arjunpur High School in the Farakka block, the situation is even more dire, with 36 out of 70 teachers set to lose their positions. Faruk Abdullah, a teacher at the school, emphasized that the school has not been able to recruit new staff since 2018 and expressed concerns about the long-term viability of the school’s operations.
Despite the Supreme Court’s order for fresh examinations and a new recruitment process, many schools are uncertain whether they will receive the necessary support in time. The lack of clarity regarding the official notification and the potential delays in recruitment raise further concerns about how schools will manage in the interim, leaving students’ education hanging in the balance.
The situation underscores the urgent need for timely and effective solutions to prevent further disruptions in the education system. As schools across West Bengal face mounting challenges, it remains to be seen how the government will address the crisis and restore stability to the state’s educational institutions.