Top court stays HC order scrapping appointments of 6,500 primary school teachers

The ruling brings respite among the aggrieved teaching candidates in Shahbagh

The Supreme Court has suspended a High Court ruling that had cancelled the appointments of 6,531 candidates selected for assistant teaching positions in government primary schools across Dhaka and Chattogram.

On Monday, a three-member Appellate Division Bench led by Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam issued the order, allowing the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education to appeal the High Court's verdict.

The High Court ruling has, therefore, been stayed until the appeal is resolved.

As a result of the order, the government is not legally barred from appointing the qualified candidates for now, according to Barrister Muntasir Uddin Ahmed, the lawyer for the Directorate of Primary Education.

The Appellate Division's ruling provided relief to the protesting candidates, many of whom were staging a sit-in demonstration at Shahbagh.

On Oct 31, the final results of the third-phase of the selection process were announced, with 6,531 candidates chosen for assistant teacher positions in government primary schools in the Dhaka and Chattogram divisions, excluding the three hill districts.

However, on Feb 6, the High Court cancelled the appointments of candidates selected under a quota from these divisions, ordering a fresh merit-based selection process.

The candidates have been protesting since that night, demanding the reinstatement of their appointments and even threatening to carry out "mass suicides".

On Saturday, they staged a "symbolic hanging" protest outside the National Museum in Dhaka’s Shahbagh to voice their desperation.