“Hum sab laachar, berozgar ki yahi pukaar, bharti poori kare sarkar!” (We are all helpless, this is the call of the unemployed, the government should complete the recruitment process).

“Ashvasan nahi niyukti chahiye, mansik peeda se mukti chahiye!” (We need appointments not assurances and also freedom from mental anguish)

These are a few slogans off the posters pasted around Devariya’s Roadways Chauraha in Uttar Pradesh. Devariya district is around 300 kms from the state capital Lucknow. These posters have been put up by a few among the 69,000 candidates who had appeared for the teachers’ recruitment test in January 2019 and are in waiting for its results. These candidates are disturbed over the government’s tepid support to the case languishing in the court, and so, have been putting posters throughout the state stating their demands.

The candidates allege that the government is not serious enough in the matter because the state’s attorney general seldom attends the hearing on the case. These candidates allege that despite their repeated complaints to the basic education minister and secretary and other senior officials, the government doesn’t seem to take the matter seriously.

On January 6, 2019, more than four lakh candidates had appeared for the 69,000 seats in the Assistant Teacher Recruitment Test. The administration had issued a cut-off, after a day from the tests. To contest the cutoff set by the administration, few candidates had moved the court after which the matter continues in court.

However, on January 18, 2020, the Supreme Court directed the Yogi Adityanath government to start the recruitment procedure within six weeks.

The candidates demand that in accordance with the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s assurance, the recruitment process to be completed as soon as possible. It is noteworthy that the chief minister Yogi Adityanath had assured the completion of the recruitment process by February 15, 2019. As per the state’s primary education department, the primary schools in the state suffer a grave teachers’ shortage and in view of the current student population, we need more than one lakh teachers.

Leading the candidates, the main petitioner in the case, Shivendra Singh informed Rural Connection over the phone: “So far, there have been 23 hearings in the case, but the attorney general had presented himself only in three. The level of seriousness from the government’s side can be well gauged from this. We have taken up the matter with the minister as well as the secretary of basic education besides other responsible officials, but no officer or politician seems to take the matter seriously. So, we endeavour to run a statewide poster campaign to make people aware of the apathy of the present government towards providing jobs to the unemployed.”

Shivendra said that notification from the state government has informed of a fresh teachers’ recruitment process to be undertaken soon. The basic education minister of the state government, Dr Satish Dwivedi had also hinted, during a TV interview, about the new recruitment. Several thousands of candidates like Shivendra now demand that the government releases new posts only after the older recruitment process has been completed so that the successful candidate needn’t have to re-appear for yet another test and that the fresh candidates may appear for the newer recruitment.

Praveen Yadav, a candidate from Devariya, said: “It’s been more than a year but the recruitment process couldn’t be completed yet. Hundreds of thousands of applicants have been suffering from physical, mental and financial stress besides, of course, societal pressure. These candidates had, on January 8, 2020, appeared for the UPTET (Uttar Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test) wearing black bands upon their arms. This was their symbolic protest against the government’s apathy. Our families are now beginning to doubt our employability.”

Demanding that the government lobbies for the case aggressively, the candidates have staged numerous protests across several districts, including the state capital, Lucknow. When they had protested in front of the basic education department, the state’s basic education minister Dr Sarish Dwivedi had assured them of the attorney general’s presence in future hearings, but the situation remains unaltered.

Active on the social media, the candidates continue airing their demands using hashtags and tagging the chief minister and basic education minister of the state.

Shivendra Singh had also informed that he had tried to approach the chief minister numerous times during the latter’s junta durbar, but the official did not allow him to do so. “We have already exhausted all the usual options to raise the issue, so we try to invent other creative methods to do so. After appearing for the test wearing black armbands, we have taken to poster making to try tell people and politicians of our plight,” he said.