Charilam: When the school day begins at PM Shri Baidyadighi Higher Secondary School, one familiar figure quietly takes her place in the classroom. There is nothing unusual about the way she teaches, explains lessons or interacts with students. What people unfamiliar with her would find hard to believe is that Pratima Pal officially retired from government service fourteen years ago.
For most public servants, retirement marks the end of a professional journey. For Pal, it became the beginning of a different kind of commitment. The day after retiring in 2012, she returned to the school—not as a salaried employee, but as a teacher determined to continue what she believes is her life’s pursuit. Since then, she has taught students every day without receiving any remuneration.
Her routine has remained unchanged through the years. As of June 29, 2026, she has completed fourteen uninterrupted years of voluntary teaching, offering lessons to generations of students who know her not as a retired teacher, but simply as a constant presence in their classrooms.
Pal’s journey in education began much earlier. In 1980, she joined Shalgara Town Girls’ High School as a Graduate Teacher. Over the following decades, she served in government schools before retiring from PM Shri Baidyadighi Higher Secondary School in 2012. Yet retirement, she says, never meant stepping away from education.
“Teaching is not a job for me; it is my life’s pursuit,” Pal says. “As long as my health permits, I will continue coming to school and teaching students without any remuneration. Their success is my greatest reward.”
Her words reflect the philosophy that has shaped her post-retirement life. While many educators conclude their careers after decades of service, Pal chose to extend hers voluntarily, transforming retirement into an opportunity for continued public service.
Inside the school, that decision has left a lasting impression. Students describe her classes as engaging and approachable, saying she explains difficult subjects in a simple manner. To many of them, she has become more than a teacher. They see her as someone who guides them with the care of a guardian as much as an educator.
The school’s acting Headmaster, Uttam Chakraborty, believes Pal’s contribution extends beyond classroom teaching. He describes her continued presence as an uncommon example of dedication and commitment.
“Teachers like Pratima Pal are rare,” he says. “Continuing to teach without remuneration for fourteen years after retirement is an extraordinary example. Her selfless commitment and love for education inspire all of us, and the school deeply respects her contribution.”
Her story also raises broader questions about the meaning of education in an era when teaching is increasingly viewed through the lens of employment, career progression and institutional responsibilities. Without challenging that reality, Pal’s decision offers a different perspective—that education can also be sustained by personal conviction and a sense of responsibility towards future generations.
The significance of her work is measured not through awards or financial recognition but through continuity. Every school day adds another chapter to a commitment that has remained unchanged since 2012. Over the years, hundreds of students have entered and left the school while one teacher has quietly remained at her desk, carrying forward the same responsibility she accepted decades earlier.
As another day of classes comes to an end, Pratima Pal leaves the school much as she arrived—without ceremony, without expectation and without salary. Yet her daily return to the classroom has become a reminder that while careers may conclude with retirement, the vocation of teaching can endure far beyond it.
In that quiet persistence lies the enduring power of a teacher who never truly left her classroom.
(Reporting by Mrinal Banik with inputs from Haradhan Debnath)