Protesting primary school teachers have withdrawn their classroom boycott for Monday, but the sit-in at Dhaka’s Central Shaheed Minar will continue for the third day.
Md Shamsuddin Masud, one of the key leaders of this movement, made the announcement on Sunday night after a meeting at the Secretariat with officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education.
He told TIMES of Bangladesh that the finance and primary education secretaries will hold another meeting with teachers on Monday afternoon on the three-point demand, including 10th grade salary status, after which a final decision will be taken.
At the ministries’ request, the classroom boycott has been suspended for Monday and schools across the country will hold classes, Masud confirmed.
Masud, also the president of Bangladesh Primary School Assistant Teachers’ Association, said if a positive decision comes on Monday, the sit-in will be withdrawn, otherwise teachers will return to work abstention.
Earlier, a nine-member delegation including Abul Kashem, Shamsuddin Masud and Mahbubur Rahman joined the meeting at the Secretariat at 6:30pm on Sunday. Primary and Mass Education Secretary Abu Taher Md Masud Rana and two senior officials were also present.
Teachers have been holding sit-in at Shaheed Minar since Saturday morning, pressing for three key demands – 10th grade salary and benefits, higher grade in the 10th and 16th year of service and 100% departmental promotion.
The protest was launched by four teacher organisations under the banner of “Prathomik Shikkhok Dabi Adai Parishad.”
On Saturday afternoon, teachers attempted a “pen down” protest at Shahbagh, where police baton-charged and used sound grenades, injuring over a hundred teachers. Following the clash, teachers announced a nationwide classroom boycott from Sunday.
Later, on Sunday afternoon, government primary school assistant teachers staged a protest at Shaheed Minar with their mouths covered in black cloth, reiterating that classes would remain suspended and the sit-in would continue until their demands were met.
A total of 15 teacher organisations have now declared solidarity with the movement.
The Directorate of Primary Education earlier said a recommendation has been made to upgrade assistant teachers from the 13th to the 11th grade and the process is under way.
At the start of the movement, teachers had said they would return if the 11th grade gazette was issued.
However, after the police action in Shahbagh, they hardened their stance and announced that they will not return to classrooms without an official notification granting 10th grade status.
