Jatiya Nagorik Committee on Wednesday demanded cancellation of a circular cancelling the timescale facility for 48,720 primary schools teachers.
Terming the circular as illegal, they also urged the government to ensure that no teachers face any harassment to get the timescale facility.
Expressing solidarity with the demand of the Bangladesh Primary Teachers’ Association, the committee held a press conference at its office in the capital on the day.
While reading out a paper, the committee’s central executive member Faisal Mahmud Shanto termed education as the most important arm of the state in nation building.
In the past 53 years, education and teachers were neglected particularly at the primary level, he said.
Pressed by teachers’ demand, the government in January 2013 nationalised 26,193 non-government primary schools and 1.04 lakh teachers working there.Â
Following the Non-Government Primary School Teachers (Service Regulations) Rules 2013, a finance ministry memorandum, and a primary and mass education ministry circular, 48,720 teachers started to get the timescale facilities since then, Faisal said.
The teachers got timescale in the 8th, 12th and 15th years of their jobs.
In August 2020, the finance ministry issued a circular saying that these teachers would not get timescale from the ministry anymore.
‘This 2020 circular is entirely illegal,’ Faisal said, adding that these teachers were subjected to harassment for the circular.
He iterated his organisation’s support to the teachers’ demand, saying that it was a ‘just’ demand. ‘We want the cancellation of the 2020 circular and an end to all harassment of the teachers,’ he added.
Nagorik Committee spokesperson Samantha Sharmin urged the interim government to take immediate and positive action for the primary teachers.
Teachers’ association president Aminul Islam Chowdhury said that their movement would continue.
