Assistant teachers of all government primary schools across the country began an indefinite work abstention on Sunday morning, demanding three-point demands, including tenth-grade salary benefits. As a result, classes for nearly 1 crore students in over 65,500 schools have been disrupted. While young students attended schools, teachers refrained from conducting lessons, forcing children to return home without attending classes.
The assistant teachers had started a continuous sit-in at the Central Shaheed Minar from Saturday, November 8. Their indefinite work abstention programme was initially scheduled to begin after November 15. However, following a police attack during the ‘Pen Surrender’ programme in Shahbagh on the first day of the sit-in, the teachers advanced their strike.
The ‘Primary Teachers Demand Implementation Council’ has called for an indefinite strike in all government primary schools starting today. Mohammad Shamsuddin Masud, a leading member of the council and president of the Bangladesh Primary School Assistant Teachers Association, told Jago News, “The attack on our teachers in Dhaka has angered the primary teacher community. Many of our teachers have been injured, with some suffering from bullet splinters in their hands and feet, and are now bedridden in hospitals. Several have been detained. In this situation, teachers across the country are observing a total strike. The strike will continue until a reasonable solution is reached.”
He added, “We will continue our sit-in at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka. If the government fails to meet our demands, we may even resort to locking schools as a form of protest.”
Professor Dr. Bidhan Ranjan Roy Poddar, Primary and Mass Education Affairs Adviser, said that after a long-standing demand and subsequent court cases and petitions, the head teachers of primary schools were recently promoted to the 10th grade. As a result, it is currently not possible to upgrade assistant teachers from the 13th grade to the 10th grade. “They are working so that they can get the 11th grade. At this moment, it is also not reasonable for them to go on a movement,” added Dr. Poddar.
When asked about the matter, Director General (DG) of the Directorate of Primary Education, Abu Nur Md. Shamsuzzaman, told Jago News, “We have recommended giving the assistant teachers the 11th grade. If the Ministry of Finance approves it, they will get the 11th grade. Beyond that, there is nothing more we can do.”