Teacher candidates call off protest, head back to join schools after SC ruling

Thrilled by the Supreme Court's ruling, the candidates whose appointments as assistant teachers at government primary schools in Dhaka and Chattogram were scrapped by the High Court have ended their protests and are returning to their respective districts to take up their jobs.

On Monday, the Appellate Division suspended the High Court order that had scrapped the recruitment of 6,531 candidates selected for the teaching positions. The court also instructed the candidates to join their positions within a month.

Reacting to the verdict, Talukdar Piyash, a candidate from Faridpur's Nagarakanda Upazila, said, “We are very happy with the decision. Our demand for recruitment has been proven to be just.”

“No more protests. We are ending our movement and heading home. We will hold a press conference shortly to announce the end of our protests.”

Fahad, another candidate, expressed gratitude to the media for their support during the candidates' struggle.

“We, the 6,531 selected teachers, will forever be grateful to all the media personnel. You were the first to stand by us. We will never forget your help. From the bottom of our hearts, we pray that Allah keeps you and your families healthy and grants you long lives. Your role in this victory has been immense, and we salute all the media personnel.”

On Oct 31, 2024, the final results for the third phase of recruitment were announced, with 6,531 candidates being selected 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 then, blocking Shahbagh multiple times to demand the reinstatement of their appointments. On each occasion, they were forcibly removed by law enforcement.

They later threatened to carry out "mass suicide", staging a "symbolic hanging" protest outside the National Museum in Dhaka’s Shahbagh to voice their desperation on Saturday.