Primary school teachers rally in Dhaka to push for better pay, promotions

Organised by an alliance of six teacher groups, teachers from across the country join the gathering at the Central Shaheed Minar

Assistant teachers from government primary schools across Bangladesh have gathered in Dhaka for a mass rally to demand the resolution of long-standing disputes over pay grades and promotions.

The rally began on Saturday with the national anthem.

Organised by the Primary Assistant Teachers Unity Council, an alliance of six teacher groups, thousands of teachers joined the gathering at the Central Shaheed Minar.

The teachers outlined a three‑point charter of demands, which include entry-level salary at Grade 11 instead of the current Grade 13, resolution of complications in receiving higher grades after 10 and 16 years of service, and promotion of assistant teachers to all available head teacher posts through an accelerated process.

“Many have conspired and spread propaganda against this rally, leading to a lack of cooperation from the administration. But despite all obstacles, a huge number of teachers are here today," said Md Anisur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Primary Assistant Teachers’ Society.

He added that assistant teachers had been denied promotions for years because of unresolved legal complications, which is why they are now demanding full eligibility for head teacher posts.

"Higher grades are the right of every government employee, yet complications remain. Our foremost demand is pay at the 11th grade. Without fair salaries in the current socio-economic reality, improving the quality of primary education will not be possible. If teachers and their families are left hungry, how can they focus on teaching, improving education, or shaping the nation’s future? This rally is to secure those rightful demands.”

Leaders from the BNP, the Jamaat-e-Islami, and the National Citizen Party (NCP) had been invited to the rally to show solidarity, according to Anisur. Around noon, Zonayed Saki, chief coordinator of the leftist Ganosamhati Andolan, joined the gathering.

The ongoing rally is the culmination of escalating protest actions. Teachers began with one-hour work abstentions in May, progressing through half-day stoppages to full-day strikes.

Although dialogue with the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education temporarily paused the action in late May, no substantial solutions have materialised.

In April, the ministry moved to upgrade head teachers’ pay, shifting them from the 11th to the 10th grade, and from the 13th to the 12th grade.

Head teachers welcomed the move and demanded that all of them receive 10th grade salaries retroactively from 2014. Assistant teachers, however, rejected the plan, insisting instead that their own entry-level pay be set at the 11th grade.

On Jul 28, the Finance Division approved the ministry’s proposal to raise the salaries of 65,502 head teacher posts to the 10th grade.

Bangladesh’s government primary schools total 65,567, with about 384,000 teachers employed.