Govt secondary school teachers on strike, annual exams not being held
Teachers of government secondary schools across the country have begun an indefinite strike from today, Monday, pressing for a four-point demand.
As a result, reports have emerged that annual examinations are not being held today in various government secondary schools, including those in Dhaka.
Several schools issued notices yesterday, Sunday announcing the postponement of today’s examinations.
Dhaka Collegiate School issued a notice yesterday, Sunday stating that today, Monday’s examinations would not be held.
A teacher from Government Coronation Girls’ High School in Khulna said on Monday morning that examinations were not taking place at their institution.
Annual examinations were also not held at Government Laboratory High School, one of the key educational institutions in the capital.
Similarly, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Government Boys’ High School also did not conduct the examinations. The programme is being carried out under the banner of the Bangladesh Government Secondary Teachers Association.
The central coordination committee’s coordinator, Mohammad Omar Faruq, told Prothom Alo on Monday morning that if the ministry gives a clear commitment to fulfilling their demands with a specific outline, they will not continue the strike in the interest of students and the nation.
Yesterday, Sunday another protesting teacher told Prothom Alo that if the government meets their demands, they will hold the remaining examinations on the weekly holidays (Friday and Saturday) and publish the results within December. If the demands are not met, the strike will continue.
The four demands of secondary teachers:
Inclusion of the post of Assistant Teacher within the BCS (General Education) Cadre and publication of a gazette under the Directorate of Secondary Education.
Immediate implementation of recruitment, promotion and posting of teachers working in schools and in the inspection branch against various vacant posts.
Issuance of approval for arrears involving time-scale and selection grade in accordance with the Supreme Court’s judgement.
Restoration of the enhanced salary benefits, including 2 to 3 increments for assistant teachers, as applied prior to 2015 and publication of the corresponding gazette.
In a press release issued yesterday, Sunday the Government Secondary Teachers’ Association stated that teachers observed a sit-in strike for the second consecutive day on Sunday in front of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, demanding long-standing professional dignity and allowances associated with their four-point charter of demands. As the demands remain unmet, teachers are now shifting to an indefinite strike.
Partial strike among primary teachers
A faction of primary school teachers has been observing a strike pressing for three demands, including the ‘temporary’ grant of the 11th grade for assistant teachers. This programme is being carried out under the banner of the ‘Primary Teachers Demand Implementation Council’.
The organisation announced yesterday, Sunday evening that due to the lack of desired progress in implementing their demands, the boycott of the third-term assessment (annual examination) will continue today, Monday.
However, reports indicate that annual examinations are being held in various government primary schools in Dhakaon Monday morning. The head teacher of a school in the Lalbagh educational area told Prothom Alo this morning that examinations have begun, adding that education officials have issued strict instructions regarding the conduct of examinations.
He also noted that such programmes are generally less widely observed in schools in Dhaka.
It is to be noted that the main annual examinations at primary schools began today, 1 December.
There are 65,569 government primary schools across the country, with over 10 million pupils enrolled. The number of teachers exceeds 375,000. Of the 369,216 approved assistant teacher posts, 352,208 are currently filled.
At present, assistant teachers in government primary schools are placed in the 13th grade of the national pay scale (starting basic salary of Tk 11,000). Demanding elevation to the 10th grade along with two other demands, assistant teachers started a sit-in at the Central Shaheed Minar and began strike earlier this month.