In Kushtia, primary schools were thrown into chaos due to teachers’ work stoppage and refusal to conduct annual exams over three demands. Frustrated by the situation, parents were forced to administer the exams themselves.
This occurred on Thursday (4 December) morning at Lihini Government Primary School on the outskirts of Kushtia. With the teachers absent from the classrooms at the scheduled exam time, parents organised the exams independently. They oversaw all aspects, including distributing and collecting answer scripts and maintaining order.
Parents stated that teachers’ demands may be legitimate, but striking during exams was unacceptable. They insisted that the tests are essential to evaluate students’ yearly performance and could not be disrupted. Therefore, they took responsibility for conducting the exams themselves.
The headteacher and president of the Kushtia District Primary Teachers’ Association, Masudul Karim, said, “Following strong pressure from parents and directives from the Upazila Education Officer, the exams had to proceed. Parents are assisting in the process.”
District Primary Education Officer, M. Mofizul Islam, explained, “Thanks to parents’ help, the headteacher conducted the exams at Lihini Government Primary School because the assistant teachers were on strike. Conducting the exams without parents’ assistance would have been impossible. Out of 805 primary schools in the district, 77 schools have teachers not conducting exams. A list of these schools is being prepared.”
Teachers on strike stated that their complete shutdown and full strike will continue until ‘visible progress’ is made regarding their three demands, including the 11th grade issue, urging the government to act quickly.
Glive24/SS