On January 10, Moushumi Ghosh Das joined about 500 others at Sealdah in central 0 Kolkata to protest. It was a gathering of teaching aspirants who had successfully qualified the state's Teachers' Eligibility Test (TET) in the years from 2014 but had not been appointed.
They were demanding that the state government place them in schools. Originally from Bardhaman, Ghosh Das is now 33; she was 23 when she first cleared the TET in 2012.
"I appeared for the first time in 2012, I also appeared in 2014, 2015 and finally 2016, the result of which was declared in 2017, and in 2018 counselling started. It was only in 2022, after the court order, that I got to know my marks in academics, in written tests and in viva," said Ghosh Das, still awaiting to be recruited.
Seven teachers' organisations came together for the January 10 protest but there have been countless such demonstrations and gatherings for close to a decade as thousands of candidates who had qualified continued to wait for jobs. "I had appeared in all the examinations, be it for teaching the students of upper primary or secondary or higher secondary level students. I am confident about my ability, I should have cracked at least one," Ghosh Das added. She had cleared the test but no interview was held.
The teachers' situation has ballooned into West Bengal's "teacher recruitment scam" which has seen the arrests of former education minister, Partho Chatterjee; Kalyanmoy Ganguly, the former president of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education; and Trinamool Congress' (TMC) youth wing leader, Kuntal Ghosh. Central agencies, Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, have launched investigations.
But in the din of the controversy, there's still no redress for the affected teaching aspirants.
Nothing seemed fair
Esta historia es de la edición February 2023 de Careers 360.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición February 2023 de Careers 360.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
The 50 colleges in 5 countries where most Indians go for MBBS abroad
Data on countries and colleges from the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE) 2022 - the latest available - shows that most Indians who completed medical degrees abroad and wrote the FMGE went to five countries.
Foreign medical colleges: Look before you leap
A close look at foreign medical colleges that thousands of Indians have graduated from shows that many are unaccredited, don’t have hospitals or even their own websites
'Either I clear FMGE or leave the country'
After spending lakhs on MBBS degrees abroad, thousands spend years trying to clear the FMGE. That is the only option for Indian graduates of foreign medical colleges to build a career in India
Why hundreds of nursing graduates leave India each year
There has been an increase in nursing institutes over the past two decades but policy gaps, lax regulations, poor pay and opportunities are pushing a large number of nursing staff to seek opportunities abroad
In Kashmir, why NEET and JEE candidates flock to private reading halls to prepare for exams
These are accessible round-the-clock, even on public holidays, have private cabins and booths, kitchen, discussion area and some, even places for napping
Battling despair and depression in medical school
Long hours, bullying, lack of support make a difficult programme tougher for medical students. They hope for clear guidelines from the NMC
This father-daughter duo uncovered a scam in NEET admissions in West Bengal
Several generalcategory students had secured admission in medical colleges with forged ST certificates. Ishita Soren spotted the names, and her father followed up
'Forced to take up bonded labour
There's massive resistance to a state policy in Karnataka that requires even private medical college graduates to do one year's mandatory rural service
‘A routine circus': PG medical students lobby, move court to get stipends
Despite NMC orders, many medical colleges still seriously underpay resident doctors and threaten them into silence. In government colleges, stipends can be delayed for months
Why Mizoram wants centre to take over its only medical college
Mizoram got its first state medical college in 2018. In 2023, it asked the union government to take over. Mixed up in this are questions of funding, MBBS seat distribution
