Bandita Borah, a computer teacher of Jawahar Novodaya Vidyalaya (JNV), Jorhat, who has been terminated allegedly for protesting against CAA, 2019, remains firm on her anti-CAA stand.
However, in the show cause notice served to Borah on December 24 by the principal of the school, located at Titabar, it was mentioned that she was suspended for non-performance.
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On the same day Borah, a contractual teacher, was terminated from her service.
On Friday, Borah clarified that she had been terminated not because of performance issues but because she had uploaded the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) related matter on social media and also for a showdown with another non-Assamese teacher of the school over a related matter.
Also read: Anti-CAA protest: Assam’s school teacher gets termination notice
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today clarified that she had been terminated not because of performance issues but because she had uploaded the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act matter on social media and due to a showdown with another non-Assamese teacher of the school over a related matter.
Speaking to Northeast Now, Borah said that the Principal had issued the show cause notice regarding her unsatisfactory performance, and the termination letter on the same day, which is December 24.
Her termination notice stated that her reply to the show cause was “unsatisfactory”.
Also read: Termination of school teacher for backing anti-CAA protests evokes reaction
“The next day when AJYCP activists met the principal he first said that he had issued the show cause two days ago but when they pointed out that the issuing dates of both the letters were same, he was at a loss for words,” Borah said.
The principal also verbally told them that she had taken part in an anti-CAA protest along with the students of the school.
“What I had done was filming an anti-CAA protest by some students of the school in the morning assembly. Even this could not be termed as a protest as they had sung a song and donned gamosas while singing the song,” Borah said.
“The non-Assamese teachers had looked awkward at such activities and one of them had told the students that those who were protesting against CAA were illiterate. This had raised a hue and cry among the students and I took up the cudgels on their behalf. He later apologised. This resulted in the show cause notice,” said Borah.
Regarding the reply to the show cause notice, Borah said she had been working on a contractual basis since August 6 and a week later she was sent on training to Mizoram.
On her return, she had been asked to help the school authority with Class 6 admission, filling up the forms and other paperwork. Next, it was holding all India competitive exams for one class or the other and the whole time was taken up with sending the exam forms and downloading of software.
“Out of the innumerable such exams, I was asked to help others in similar such work. As I was recruited as a computer teacher as well as a system administrator, I could not manage to hold one exam, which is being highlighted as non-performance on my part. Only a handful of JNVs could hold that exam online,” she said.
“With my laptop I had to shuttle from one class to another class clicking photos of the students and filling up the forms for most of last month,” she said.
She alleged that the school did not have a proper computer lab for the students, as this was now more of a storehouse.
“There is no computer for the students to practise. I tried my best by giving notes on theory but this is not the way one can teach computer science,” she said.
Borah is not planning to knock at the door of courts.
She hopes that the people and pressure from organisations would help reinstate her.
She is, however, firm in her anti-CAA stand and said what she had written on social media was her personal opinion and that the school should not be bothered about this.
The principal, Mukesh Kumar, when contacted said he was not in a position to speak right then and would speak later.
Jorhat deputy commissioner Roshni A Korati said Bandita Borah was a contractual teacher and had been terminated due to unsatisfactory performance as per the termination letter.
Police have stepped up patrolling near the school to pre-empt any violence arising out of this issue.