• Abhijit Nath, NET Correspondent, Tripura

Agartala, January 11, 2022: The joint movement committee (JMC) of 10,323 teachers in Tripura has sought reply from the Director of state’s Secondary Education department, why their termination letters is not served yet.

The delegates met with the state’s Secondary Education Director Chandni Chandran and submitted the memorandum.

Claiming this memorandum submitted in the state’s Secondary Education Director as the last one, the delegates led by Dalia Das, one of sacked teachers on Tuesday agitated in front of Shiksha Bhavan here in Agartala city.

Speaking to reporters, Das said “This will be our repeated and last memorandum submitted at Director’s office and urging to introspect the matter seriously for disposal with some facts. If our queries are not replied within seven days, then we will be bound to go to the court”.

The delegates in the memorandum copy wrote “Please specify on which writ number and judgement the department had terminated 10,323 mentioning how all are covered under Tanmoy Nath and others judgment or any other judgment when all are not challenged directly”.

“And if we are terminated from the Department where the Individual Termination Memo is and all other necessary particulars (Employment Exchange Card, Service Book etc) issued from the Director’s good office”, copy reads.

Das also added “Hon’ble High Court of Tripura WP(C) No.696 of 2020 passed one judgment on 18/12/2020 stating categorically that if Respondents No.04 to 44 are in the purview of Tanmoy Nath (Supra) the Department should terminate all these teachers like 10323. Unfortunately, it was not done. Again on 30/11/2021, in Double Bench Judgement W.A. No. 46/2021 the Hon’ble Court directed to terminate all these 37 nos of respondents (Science Teachers 2012) but till today you haven’t taken any such steps.”

The delegation urged the Director of Secondary Education department to address the queries within seven days or else, they will be compelled to knock court’s door against the official’s desire.

It is worthy to mention here that the terminated 10,323 school teachers including Graduate Teachers, Post Graduate Teachers and Under Graduate Teachers were recruited in different phases since 2010 by the then Left Front government.

When few candidates filed a petition in the year 2014 with the High Court of Tripura challenging the recruitment process, the court found irregularities and termed the process ‘unconstitutional’ and terminated them.

In reference to a Special leave petition (SLV) filed by the then left front government, the Supreme Court later upheld the High Court verdict in March 2017. They were supposed to take retirement after December 31, 2017, but the apex court kept them on ad-hoc basis, the Supreme Court granted them a one-time final extension until March 2020 and now among the 10, 323 teachers’ only 8,882 teachers are left who rendered jobless since Marc, 2021.