ছবি : সংগৃহীত
The protesting assistant teachers of government primary schools in the country on Thursday suspended their full-day work abstention till June 25 after the authorities assured the teachers of meeting their demands for pay rise and promotion.
The assistant teachers under the banner of the Primary Assistant Teachers Association Unity Council had begun the strike on May 26 for an indefinite period.
Their three-point demand includes upgrading the assistant teacher position at the entry level to the 11th grade from the existing 13th grade, removing the existing barriers to achieving higher grade for the teachers who are 10 years and 16 years into the job, and making provision that all head teachers will be appointed from the pool of assistant teachers through promotion.
A six-member delegation of the council met with primary education ministry adviser Bidhan Ranjan Roy Poddar at the secretariat in the capital Dhaka at about 3:00pm on Thursday. Other senior officials of the primary education ministry were also present.
After the meeting, the Primary Assistant Teachers Association Unity Council in a press release said that they suspended the strike till June 25.
They, however, threatened to resume the strike if their demands are not met by June 25.
The assistant teachers of some government primary schools in different districts, including Dhaka, Rajshahi, Mymensingh and Chattogram, abstained from their regular duties on Thursday.
The council in the press release said that the government was positive about making a provision that all head teachers would be appointed from the pool of assistant teachers through promotion.
Initiatives will be taken to remove the existing barriers to achieving higher grade for the teachers who are 10 years and 16 years into the job, it said.
An inter-ministerial meeting involving the finance ministry will be held to consider the teachers’ demand for upgrading the assistant teacher position at the entry level to the 11th grade from the existing 13th grade, the release added.
The primary school teachers staged one-hour work abstention between May 5 and 15, two-hour work abstention between May 16 and 20, and half-day work abstention between May 21 and 25, to press their three-point demand.