‘Consider’ case of teacher aspirant battling cancer: HC

Kolkata:

Calcutta High Court

on Monday asked the school education secretary to consider the appointment of Soma Das, a cancer patient, on “humanitarian grounds” against a teaching post vacancy in state-aided schools. It requested the secretary to convey the government’s decision to the court within a week.Justice

Abhijit Gangopadhyay

issued the directive after going through the candidate’s medical reports. Soma, despite her illness, had been fighting for her cause along with others who were denied jobs when many others who didn’t even qualify the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) were appointed as teachers in classes IX and X in state-run schools.Justice

Gangopadhyay

held that Soma’s medical expenses added up to Rs 15 lakh, which she couldn’t bear if she didn’t get the job.Soma declined a job offer in other departments when Justice Gangopadhyay, after coming to know of her plight, offered her another government job. “The judge was sympathetic…I could have taken up the job on offer. But I always dreamt of being a teacher,” Soma had said last week. Justice Gangopadhyay requested the school education secretary to go through Soma’s medical reports, if necessary, and arrive at a decision within a week.The court directed the SSC chairman and the school education secretary to file affidavits within two weeks in response to petitions stating that candidates with ranks much lower in the School Level Selection Test merit list got jobs depriving those much higher on the merit list.