Primary school assistant teachers from across Bangladesh gathered at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka on Saturday (August 30) for a mass rally demanding pay and promotion reforms. 

The demonstration, organized by the Primary Assistant Teachers’ Unity Council, began around 10:30 am with the national anthem.

Teachers from different districts and sub-districts arrived in the capital to press a three-point charter of demands. These include fixing the entry-level salary for assistant teachers at grade 11, filling all vacant head teacher posts through 100 percent promotion, and ensuring that the upgraded pay scale after 10 and 16 years of service is not considered a higher grade.

Mohammad Shamsuddin Masud, convener of the Unity Council and president of the Bangladesh Primary School Assistant Teachers’ Association, said political leaders were also attending the rally to support their cause. 

Among those expected to attend were BNP’s organizing secretary Principal Selim Bhuiyan, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Teachers’ Federation secretary general ABM Fazlul Karim, Nagorik Oikya’s Mahmudur Rahman Manna, Ganosamhati Andolon coordinator Zonayed Saki, and NCP senior joint coordinator Abdul Hannan Masud.

Masud warned that if the demands are not met following this rally, teachers will announce tougher programs in the days ahead.

SMS/