Assistant teachers across all government primary schools in the country have begun an indefinite work stoppage from today, demanding implementation of three key demands including pay under the 10th grade and protesting the police attack at Shahbagh.
Consequently, academic activities have been halted in over 65,000 schools across the country.
The teachers also vowed to continue their sit-in programme at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka.
The announcement was made on Saturday evening at a press conference held at the Central Shaheed Minar.
Shamsuddin Masud, convener of the Primary Assistant Teachers’ Unity Council and president of the Bangladesh Primary School Assistant Teachers’ Association, declared the decision.
He stated, “To protest the police attack and to realize our demands, we will observe a full-day work abstention in all primary schools across the country starting Sunday. Our sit-in at the Shaheed Minar will continue as well.”
Earlier in the afternoon, police fired sound grenades, tear gas, and rubber bullets at teachers participating in a "pen drop" programme at Shahbagh, leaving many injured.
Following the incident, teachers retreated to the Dhaka University area for safety. Eyewitnesses reported that several teachers fell ill after the explosions of sound grenades.
The teachers’ three-point demands are:
- Implementation of the 10th-grade pay scale for assistant teachers.
- Permanent resolution of complications regarding higher-grade promotions.
- Assurance of 100% departmental promotion for assistant teachers.
Bd-pratidin English/ ANI
