Kolkata, Aug 24 (IANS) In a shocking incident, five contract teacher of Sishu Siksha Kendra, a primary school in West Bengal, tried to commit suicide in protest against their transfer to places far off from their homes, in front of the Bikash Bhavan, which houses the state's education department, here on Tuesday.

The teachers -- all women -- were rushed to a government hospital, where the condition of two of them are reportedly serious.

The incident took place in front of Bikash Bhavan when some contract teachers of the school were agitating under the banner of Shikshak Oikya Mancha (teachers' unity forum) against their alleged transfer to far off areas -- some 600 to 700 km away from their homes.

When the police reached the spot and tried to disperse the agitating teachers, five women teachers took out bottles of poison and consumed it.

According to the police, three of them fainted on the spot and were immediately rushed to the Bidhannagar sub-divisional hospital but as their condition deteriorated, two were transferred to the NRS Medical College and Hospital while the others were transferred to the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

State Education Minister Bratya Basu rushed to the spot, but he was not available for comment.

The contract teachers, who are not in the government pay-roll but are given ad-hoc salary between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 per month, have been agitating for a long time over various issues, including permanent jobs and hike in salary.

"We are contract teachers. If the new education policy is effective, we will not have jobs. We have been asking the government for a long time to listen to our demands, but it is not ready to pay any heed," an agitating teacher said.

"Recently we had staged a protest and after that the teachers were transferred. This shows the vindictive attitude of the government," another teacher said.

A total of 16 persons, including the five teachers who attempted suicide on Tuesday, have reportedly been transferred to North Bengal after their protesting in front of the state secretariat, Nabanna.

The incident has sparked debate in the political circles.

BJP leader and spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya said, "This shows that the government is playing to the gallery. There is no respect for teachers, there is no employment and there is no humanity either. The government is befooling the people."

CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said, "Some teachers have raised some demands. I am surprised to find that none -- neither the Chief Minister, nor the Education Minister -- could take out some time and meet them. Nothing can be more unfortunate than this. I am not supporting their bid to commit suicide, but the state government should think what prompted them to take this extreme step."

The Trinamool Congress, however, strongly condemned the incident.

Speaking on the issue, Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, "This is a very unfortunate incident. We need to find out who prompted them to consume poison. They didn't do it on their own. They were instigated and we need to see who instigated them."