Another Lathi-Charge, Another Blow To Bengal's Broken Education System
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The SSC recruitment scam is not merely about unemployed candidates being denied jobs. It is a reflection of how education in Bengal has been reduced to a cadre-parking scheme
The chaos outside Bikash Bhavan in Kolkata — that unfolded dramatically on Thursday night as police baton-charged protesting teachers or the SSC candidates who lost jobs after the Supreme Court ruling — marks the second such crackdown since 21 April. The images are disturbing but not surprising.
For those who have never lived in West Bengal, here is the context. The education system in the state has long ceased to be a sacred institution. And the scholarly society of Bengal, which once took immense pride in its literacy structure, has become a silent spectator. What remains today is a carcass, propped up by political patronage, bureaucratic apathy, and a den of deep-rooted corruption.
The SSC recruitment scam is not merely about unemployed candidates being denied jobs or losing jobs. It is a reflection of how education in Bengal has been reduced to a cadre-parking scheme.
The state's once-proud intellectual infrastructure has been hollowed out to make space for political foot soldiers, loyalists, and at times sycophants. This is not just hyperbole — it is reality. Former education minister Partha Chatterjee is currently behind bars, after central agencies seized mountains of cash and 'incriminating' documents allegedly linking him to illegal appointments.
The stink of the scam reaches every level of the recruitment process, from school clerks to assistant teachers. The list of successful candidates included hundreds of relatives, friends, and acquaintances of politicians and people related to the Trinamool Congress, Bengal's ruling party.
Even now, Mamata Banerjee's government has failed to establish a credible process to distinguish between legitimate candidates and those who paid bribes for jobs. Instead, the response has been to delay, deflect, and occasionally resort to force — including statements dishonouring the court's judgment.
For the protesting candidates, many of whom have valid recommendation letters, this isn't just about employment. It is also about dignity, justice, and the right to be heard. When lathi-charges replace answers, governance has already failed.
THE RED HAMMER
But to be fair, this rot did not start yesterday. Mamata Banerjee or her party, the Trinamool Congress, are not the only ones responsible for such a degeneration of generations in the state.
The politicisation of education in Bengal has deep roots — going as far back as the Left Front era. It was during this time that institutions like Calcutta University saw the first wave of ideological infiltration, along with the cadre-policy.
References to 'Red hammers" weren't just metaphors. College and university campuses turned into strongholds of Marxist dominance. Merit took a back seat, while political affiliation became currency. The red hammer of Alimuddin Street (the CPM's headquarters in Kolkata) had hit not only Calcutta University — as portrayed so vividly by the late Professor Santosh Bhattacharyya in his book Red Hammer over Calcutta University — but had almost taken over the entire education system.
The ABTA (All Bengal Teachers' Association), an affiliated body of the Left for teachers, captured control of the teacher recruitment system. However, money or corruption was not an overt part of such control; it was instead about ideological supremacy and the consolidation of power. Several infamous CPM leaders, accused of intimidation, crime or political violence, had been teachers. Many of them were headmasters of schools or principals of colleges.
What Mamata Banerjee's government did was take that foundation and add a corrosive new layer — open corruption. If the Left hijacked ideology — communism and socialism — to build its campus base, the Trinamool Congress monetised it.
The problem isn't only about ideology now — it is primarily about a decayed system that has become both politicised and profit-driven.
This isn't just an education crisis. It is a civilisational one. Bengal once prided itself on its thinkers, educators, and reformers. Today, it is known for a series of paper leaks, lathi-charges, a rigged recruitment system, and scam-tainted ministers. Unless there is political will to clean up this mess, Bikash Bhavan (the state's education department) will see more such protests — and Bengal will continue to bleed its brightest minds.
First Published:
May 17, 2025, 09:28 IST
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