Bengal's 'Eligible Teacher' Turns Cobbler To Feed Himself & Family; Polishes Shoes In Local Train

Subhash Chandra Das, who hails from Hingalganj near the Sunderbans, is a History major from Rabindra Bharati University, batch of 2016. He also holds a B.Ed degree. According to him, despite clearing the West Bengal Teachers Eligibility Test (WB TET) in 2016, he is still unemployed because an investigation into the alleged irregularities in hiring of teachers and staff in government-run and aided schools in the state stalled teachers' recruitment.

Hingalganj:Educated unemployment is booming in West Bengal, all thanks to the West Bengal School Service Recruitment Scam 2022. College pass-outs with multiple degrees are forced to resort to meagre jobs, just to make ends meet. Such is the economic condition of the state that was once the capital of British India.

One such victim of this scam is a man from Hingalganj near the Sunderbans, Subhash Chandra Das who, despite having completed his Masters and B.Ed degree a few years ago, is now surviving with the job of a cobbler. His neighbours know of him as an amicable, friendly and helpful person and pray that he finds luck to end his misery.

"Such educated people are the soul of our nation. If they are not well-placed in life, who will? It is saddening that he has to sew shoes on the road to look after his family," said a local. Das runs a small shop at the end of the road in his area where he fixes torn shoes and also polishes them, with a smile on his face.

Sharing his story, Das said that he had cleared the West Bengal Teachers Eligibility Test (WB TET) in 2016. However, he is still unemployed because of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate's (ED) ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities in the hiring of teachers and staff in government-run and aided schools in the state.

An optimistic Das is confident about his woes coming to an end before Durga Puja. "There are chances of this case unravelling before Durga Puja. I think I will finally be hired before Maa comes and visits us. Let's hope for the best," Das said.

Das is a resident of the Dakshin Govindkati village located near Sunderban. His family owns no land and lives in a rented house. Making both ends meet is an everyday struggle for the Das family. The reality is even availing education was a luxury for them.

Yet an adamant and diligent Das did not give up. Despite hardships, he continued to go to college, only so that he could pass out and get a job and make his parents happy. Little did he know that fate would play a dirty game and he would get back to polishing and sewing shoes. He has completed his MA degree in History from Rabindra Bharati University.

When his landlord came to know that he polished shoes on local trains, he threw him out of the house without any notice. Das had to live on railway platforms to survive those harsh days. Currently, he also earns a meagre amount by providing tuition classes to kids in the locality.

"The financial condition of my family is deeply alarming. I am forced to do this work because I am the sole earning member and have no ancestral property to support my family," Das told ETV Bharat.

MLA Debes Mandal, speaking about this issue said he supported Das in his endeavours and wished him luck. "We have always stood by his family. I am sure he will get a job soon," Mondal said.