Assistant teachers announce another work stoppage

They will observe a one-hour strike from May 5-15, a two-hour strike from May 16-20, and escalate further if demands are not met, a protest leader says

Assistant teachers of government primary schools have announced another work stoppage.

The programme will demand that their salary scale be fixed at Grade 11 by considering the assistant teacher position as an entry level post, the removal of complications for transition to higher grades after completing 10 and 16 years of service, and faster promotions, including the promotion of assistant teachers to fill 100 percent of head teacher positions.

The protest is being conducted by the Primary Assistant Teachers Organization Oikya Parishad, a platform of primary assistant teachers,

Md Anisur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Primary Assistant Teachers Society, told bdnews24.com on Saturday: “The advisory committee on primary and non-formal education reforms has recommended setting teachers’ salaries at the Grade 12 at the entry level and giving them a promotion to the Grade 11 after four years. But we want assistant teachers to be paid at the 11th grade at the entry level. And we have announced a programme demanding the elimination of the complications of reaching higher grades and the promotion of assistant teachers to fill 100 percent of the posts of head teachers.”

“The strike will start from May 5. Teachers will observe a one-hour strike from May 5 to 15, and a two-hour strike from May 16 to 20. A half-day strike will be observed from May 21 to 25. And from May 26, teachers will observe a continuous full-day strike until their demands are met.”

Currently, assistant teachers are paid at the Grade 13 level and head teachers at the Grade 11 level.

After the interim government came to power, an advisory committee was formed on primary and non-formal education reforms in October. Emeritus Professor Manzoor Ahmed of BRAC University was appointed as its convener. The committee submitted its recommendation report on Feb 10.

The committee recommended abolishing the post of assistant teacher and paying Grade 12 level salaries for entry-level teachers. It recommended paying head teachers at the Grade 10 level and appointing them to the post of head teachers through promotion.

After submitting the report, Convener Manzoor, said at a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka: “Currently, teachers are at the Grade 13 level and the government is providing Grade 11 salaries for head teachers. The demand to shift head teachers to the Grade 10 level has been supported by the High Court, but the government has filed a review petition in this regard. After considering the whole situation, the interim recommendation of the committee - until the establishment of a separate status and higher salary structure for teachers - is that entry into the teaching post should be at the Grade 12 level, that their jobs be made permanent after two years, and they be promoted to the post of senior teacher at the Grade 11 level after another two years. In the case of head teachers, the recommendation is to withdraw the government's review application and set salaries at Grade 10 for head teachers and to appoint all head teachers through promotions. Teachers and head teachers will be eligible for higher scales as per the rules.”