Teachers stage sit-in at Shaheed Minar demanding higher pay and other demands

PNN News Desk | Dhaka

Government primary school assistant teachers are holding a continuous sit-in at the central Shaheed Minar for the third day on Monday. They demand:

• Upgrade of assistant teachers’ pay to Grade 10

• 100% departmental promotion

• Higher grades upon completion of 10 and 16 years of service

Around noon, over a hundred teachers were seen at the Minar with banners and placards, raising their demands publicly. An assistant teacher from Melandah, Jamalpur, told Prothom Alo that they will continue the protest until a decision is made.

On Sunday evening, the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education Secretary Abu Taher Md. Masud and other officials met with a teacher delegation. They requested more time regarding pay grade increase and asked teachers to withdraw the protest, which teachers did not comply with.

Although the ministry postponed school work temporarily to facilitate the protest, ordinary teachers did not stop. Later today, a meeting with the Secretary of the Finance Ministry is scheduled, after which teachers will announce their next steps.

The protest is affecting classes toward the end of the academic year, impacting students’ studies.