Assistant teachers of government primary schools have announced a nationwide ‘complete shutdown’ starting Wednesday (3 December), following continuous work abstention and their boycott of annual examinations, in an effort to press home their three-point demand. Under this programme, all government primary schools will remain closed, and teachers will hold sit-ins in front of Upazila or Thana Education Officer (TEO) offices.
On Tuesday (2 December) afternoon, Mohammad Shamsuddin Masud, a key convener of the Primary Teachers’ Demand Implementation Council, confirmed the matter to the media. He noted that teachers nationwide were already observing work abstention. Many had been subjected to harassment while participating in the movement. For this reason, they were preparing to announce a complete shutdown. A formal declaration would be made at a virtual meeting scheduled for 7 pm.
Data from the Directorate of Primary Education indicates that there are currently 65,569 government primary schools in the country, employing over 384,000 teachers, the majority of whom are assistant teachers.
While head teachers are now placed under the 10th grade salary scale, assistant teachers are still receiving the 13th grade. They have long been protesting this discrepancy and demanding an upgrade. From 8–11 November, during a sit-in at the Central Shaheed Minar, more than one and a half hundred teachers were injured in a police attack. Although they returned to their workplaces following assurances from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance, their movement resumed on 27 November due to the lack of progress in meeting the commitments.
Their demands are as follows:
• Salary upgrade to the 10th grade,
• Resolution of higher grade issues upon completion of 10 and 16 years of service,
• Assurance of 100% departmental promotion.
The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education has not agreed to the 10th grade but has recommended implementing the 11th grade for the time being. Teachers are continuing their movement demanding at least the execution of the promised 11th grade.
Glive24/SS