Teachers in West Bengal resumed their protest on Friday outside the Education Department headquarters in Salt Lake, Kolkata, a day after violent clashes with police left many injured. The protest follows a recent Supreme Court ruling that invalidated the jobs of thousands of teachers due to widespread irregularities in the 2016 recruitment process conducted by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC). The apex court upheld a previous Calcutta High Court verdict that had declared the appointments of over 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff void.

Despite the court's order, affected teachers have continued to demonstrate, demanding their jobs be restored without the need to retake the recruitment exam, which they claim they had already passed fairly. Members of the Deserving Teachers’ Rights Forum said several injured protestors returned to the site on Friday to continue their agitation. Chinmoy Mondal, a forum leader, stated that many demonstrators spent the night outside Bikash Bhavan and called for mass support to gather again at 3 PM to escalate the protest. The teachers are also seeking immediate dialogue with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Thursday’s unrest saw violent confrontations between the demonstrators and police, resulting in injuries to around 100 teachers, including several women. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police Anish Sarkar, protesters even blocked education department employees from leaving the building during the standoff.

The crisis stems from the Supreme Court’s April 3 decision, which confirmed that the 2016 WBSSC recruitment was marred by serious irregularities and corruption. The court criticized the state government and the commission for failing to identify the beneficiaries of fraud and ordered the cancellation of the entire recruitment list. This sweeping verdict affects approximately 25,752 staff members across nearly 19,000 schools, raising serious concerns about the future of school operations in the state.