The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Monday upheld a High Court order halting the recruitment of 6,531 assistant primary school teachers in Dhaka and Chattogram divisions under the previous Awami League government, based on a June 14, 2023, notification.
A three-member bench, headed by Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam, also directed the High Court to resolve by January 25 the legality of the recruitment process.
The process has been called into question for allegedly maintaining abolished quota provisions in selecting candidates.
The Appellate Division issued the directive after disposing of a petition filed by the Directorate of Primary Education seeking permission to appeal against the High Court鈥檚 decision. The directorate also prayed for allowing the recruitment process by halting the High Court鈥檚 stay.
The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education had planned to issue appointment letters to the qualified candidates on November 20.
The High Court, however, stayed the ministry鈥檚 November 11 notification for six months after 31 disqualified candidates filed a writ petition.
The petitioners alleged that the final recruitment results, published on October 31, violated the Supreme Court鈥檚 July 21 verdict abolishing job quotas following widespread student protests.
The Appellate Division on July 21 scrapped the High Court verdict on quotas in government jobs and ordered a 7 per cent quota 鈥� 5 per cent for the children of freedom fighters, martyred freedom fighters and Biranganas, 1 per cent for national minorities, and 1 per cent for people with disabilities and third-gender people.
The quota for women and backward districts were scrapped in the new gazette notification issued by the public administration ministry on the same day in line with the Supreme Court verdict.
On October 31, the Directorate of Primary Education announced the final results of the third phase of recruitment in Dhaka and Chattogram divisions (excluding the three hill districts), with 6,531 candidates declared successful.
The results were published on the directorate鈥檚 website.
This is not the first legal setback for the recruitment process.
Earlier, on May 28, the High Court had suspended the process, including oral examinations, for six months.
Although the Appellate Division later allowed the oral examinations to proceed, it directed authorities to investigate media reports of question paper leaks during the written exam.
The legal proceedings have added significant uncertainty to the recruitment process, affecting thousands of aspirants and raising questions about the transparency of the system.
Senior pro-Bangladesh Nationalist Party lawyer Zainul Abedin represented the disqualified candidates while pro-BNP lawyers Mahbub Uddin Khokon and Ruhul Quddus Kazal appeared for the Directorate of Primary Education.