In a letter addressed to the President of India, Droupadi Murmu on April 9, the General Secretary of the CPI(ML), Dipankar Bhattacharya, has sought urgent intervention to protect nearly 26,000 schoolteachers in West Bengal whose livelihoods have been destroyed by a controversial Supreme Court verdict.
The mass termination, ordered in the name of punishing corruption in recruitment processes, has been widely criticised as unjust and disproportionate. “The court and government themselves acknowledged that the overwhelming majority of those affected were recruited fairly,” Com. Dipankar wrote. “Yet, they have now been stripped of their only source of secure and dignified livelihood.”
The letter highlights the catastrophic impact on thousands of families who are now facing uncertainty, despair, and unemployment — all for no fault of their own. Moreover, the decision has left the public education system in chaos, creating further disruption for students in a state already grappling with chronic neglect of government schools and the privatisation push embedded in the National Education Policy (NEP).
“This collective punishment is not justice — it is a travesty,” said Com. Dipankar, calling attention to how the ruling not only penalises innocent teachers but also deepens the crisis of public education.
The CPI(ML) leader also drew attention to the wider context of rising corruption in education and recruitment systems across India, citing the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh — where whistleblowers and witnesses were murdered — to the recent NEET and UPSC paper leak scandals. He argued that the state and judiciary have largely failed to deliver justice in these cases, and instead, victims are being punished.
“The rise of an education and examination mafia is indeed alarming,” the letter reads. “But mass terminations cannot be the solution. We must distinguish between systemic rot and individual culpability. Justice must target the perpetrators, not the victims.”
Com. Dipankar urged the President to urgently intervene to halt this injustice and help find a way forward — one that provides relief and reinstatement for the victimised teachers, while also strengthening public oversight and accountability in education and recruitment systems.
The CPI(ML) has vowed to stand with the dismissed teachers and students affected by this ruling, and to continue the struggle for a just, inclusive, and democratic education system.
Earlier on April 8, Raja Ram Singh and Sudama Prasad, Members of Parliament from CPI(ML) also wrote to President of India seeking intervention on the issue of termination of teachers.
