After years of administrative delays, the Ministry of Education has promoted 1,870 lecturers from the 32nd to 35th BCS (General Education) batches to the post of assistant professor.
For many of the lecturers, this is the first career advancement in more than a decade. Members of the 32nd and 33rd batches received their first promotions after over 12 years in service, while those from the 34th batch were promoted after 10 years and the 35th batch after 8 years.
The promotion order was issued on Thursday, followed by publication of the full list on the Secondary and Higher Education Division website on Friday.
According to the circular, the promoted lecturers, now placed in the 6th grade, will join the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) as officers on special duty (OSD) until further instructions, continuing to carry out responsibilities associated with their previous positions.
Reacting to the announcement, SM Asaduzzaman of the 34th batch said, “We had hoped for a unified promotion covering the 32nd to 37th batches.
Still, promoting four batches together is a significant development, and we welcome it. We expect the remaining two batches to be promoted soon.”
Although officers from the 37th BCS in other cadres were promoted earlier, the promotion process for the 32nd to 37th batches of the education cadre had remained stalled.
Nearly 2,400 lecturers from these six batches had engaged in prolonged advocacy, demonstrations, and legal actions. Their frustration culminated in a ‘No Promotion, No Work’ programme launched last Sunday.
In response, the ministry issued the long-delayed circular, promoting four batches simultaneously, an action that teachers have described as one of the largest mass promotions in the history of the education cadre.
The BCS General Education Cadre Lecturers’ Council expressed gratitude to Education Adviser Prof Dr Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar, senior officials of the Secondary and Higher Education Division and DSHE, members of the Departmental Promotion Committee, and officials of the Finance and Public Administration ministries.
The council also urged the government to expedite promotions for eligible officers of the 36th and 37th batches, and called on teachers to return to their workplaces as all protest programmes have been suspended.
