THIS is unacceptable that the government has not yet addressed the grievances of 6,531 recommended assistant teachers in government primary schools in Dhaka and Chattogram and has, instead, been highhanded with them. It has already been 11 days that the recommended teachers are demonstrating against a February 6 High Court verdict that declared illegal and scrapped the appointment of 6,531 assistant teachers based on job quotas as per the 2019 government primary school teacher recruitment rules. The recommended teachers, mostly women, are reported to have been demonstrating day and night, protesting at Shahbagh or in front of the Shikkha Bhaban during the day while sleeping in front of the national press club at night. The demonstrators suffered police highhandedness on more than a couple of occasions. The law enforcers charged batons, fired tear shells and sound grenades and sprayed water through canons on February 10, 11 and 16 to disperse them. The law enforcers also picked up some demonstrators, who were released later. Such police highhandedness is downright unacceptable; similarly unacceptable is the apparent reluctance of the authorities to immediately address and resolve the issue.
The demonstrators earlier met the education adviser and the primary and mass education secretary, who assured them of an early resolution of the issue and yet the issue has not been resolved. The Directorate of Primary Education, however, appealed against the High Court verdict to the Appellate Division on February 13. Demonstrators, meanwhile, say that they are discriminated against as a few thousand teachers have already been recruited in two phases under the 2019 recruitment rules and that they were recommended by the interim government on October 21, 2024. It is understandable that there is contention regarding the Government Primary School Teacher Recruitment Rules, 2019, which reserves 60 per cent seats for women, 20 per cent for wards and 20 per cent for males in recruiting teachers for government primary schools, especially after the July-August uprising that began as a quota reform movement, seeking reforms to an unjust quota system in the recruitment of government jobs. It is also obvious that the 2019 recruitment rules are substantially, if not totally, different from the earlier quota system and emphasise a preference for the appointment of women as primary teachers. This is, therefore, very logical that many job seekers want a review of the recruitment rules, and the authorities should review the 2019 recruitment rules and weigh the merits and demerits of the rules and act accordingly.
While the law enforcers must not be highhanded with the demonstrators, the government should take a proactive role to address the genuine grievances of the recommended assistant teachers.
