Shanta and Shahina Leave Streets After Deployment Dates Announced

Hundreds of candidates finally selected for assistant teacher posts at government primary schools gathered outside the National Museum in Shahbagh, Dhaka, on a hot and humid day punctuated by occasional light rain. They had assembled to demand an early posting after waiting for months to receive formal appointment and deployment dates.

The protest began shortly after 11am, when police put up barricades around the area. One side of the road leading towards TSC was closed to traffic, causing some disruption in the busy Shahbagh area. The opening moments of the demonstration, however, were marked by a gesture of goodwill rather than confrontation. Protesters handed flowers to police officers before beginning their programme by singing the national anthem.

As the day progressed, more candidates joined the gathering. The crowd eventually extended from the Shahbagh area towards the Fine Arts Institute, reflecting the scale of frustration among those who had been waiting to begin their careers in the state-run primary education system.

Among those taking part were Sweetie Akter Shanta from Munshiganj and Shahina Akter, a former student of Rajshahi University. Both women said they wanted to become primary school teachers because they hoped to work with children and contribute to their education. Yet despite successfully completing the recruitment process, they had remained in uncertainty over when they would actually be able to take up their posts.

A total of 14,384 candidates were finally selected for assistant teacher positions on 8 February. According to the candidates, their medical examinations and verification of certificates had been completed by March. However, months passed without the formal deployment notification being issued, leaving the successful candidates waiting for a clear timeline.

The prolonged delay became a source of growing anxiety for many of the candidates. They said 175 days had passed since the publication of the final results. Some claimed that two successful candidates had died during the period of waiting, while at least 15 candidates had lost their parents before their children could join their long-awaited government jobs.

One participant, speaking on condition of anonymity, said ordinary candidates should not be held responsible if there had been any irregularities in the recruitment examination. According to the candidate, once the necessary verification and screening procedures had been completed, there was no reasonable justification for keeping the deployment process pending.

The situation changed later in the day when the long-awaited announcement finally arrived. The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education issued a notification stating that the selected candidates would join their posts on 1 October, with their deployment to be completed by 4 October.

The announcement brought immediate relief to the protesters. After months of uncertainty, the candidates finally had specific dates around which they could plan the next stage of their lives and careers. The news also eased the tension surrounding the day’s demonstration, allowing the participants to leave the streets peacefully.

Before dispersing, however, the protesters made another gesture that drew attention. Carrying brooms and sacks, they cleaned the area where they had held their demonstration outside Shahbagh. Rather than leaving behind rubbish after a day-long gathering, they took responsibility for cleaning the site before heading home.

For Shanta, Shahina and thousands of other successful candidates, the announcement marked the end of a 175-day wait for certainty. Their next milestone is now clear: joining their posts on 1 October and completing the deployment process by 4 October.

After months of uncertainty, the candidates left Shahbagh with a definite timetable at last. For many of them, the wait to become government primary school teachers is finally nearing its end, with the prospect of entering classrooms and beginning their long-awaited careers now within reach.