Primary school assistant teachers to begin full-day work abstention Monday

Assistant teachers of government primary schools will go on full-day work abstention from tomorrow, Monday, to press for their three-point demands, including setting their initial salary scale at grade 11 of national pay scale.

The Primary Assistant Teachers Association Unity Council has stated that the programme will continue until their demands are met, as today marks the end of their previously declared half-day work abstention.

The assistant teachers will move to full-day abstention as per their earlier announcement as their demands remain unheeded.

The announcement was made in a press release signed by Mohammad Shamsuddin, the Convener of the Council and president of the Bangladesh Primary School Assistant Teachers' Association.

Earlier, the assistant teachers of primary schools have observed series of programmes including one-hour work abstention daily from 5 to 15 May, two hours daily from 16 to 20 May, and half-day abstention from 21 to 25 May.

The three demands of the protesting assistant teachers are: revising the recommendations of the committee on the development of primary and non-formal education to reasonably ensure that the assistant teacher post starts at grade 11 salary scale; resolving the complications related to higher grade entitlement after 10 and 16 years of service; ensuring 100 per cent promotion to the head teacher position and speeding up the promotion process.

The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education has taken an initiative to upgrade the salary grade of government primary school teachers by one level. If implemented, the starting salary grade will be 12 for assistant teachers, and 10 for head teachers.

This initiative follows the recommendations of the committee led by BRAC University’s Emeritus Professor Manzoor Ahmed, and based on court rulings.

However, rejecting the government's proposal, the protesting assistant teachers have launched their movement, insisting that the initial salary grade must be set at grade 11, not grade 12.