Lecturers from the 32nd to the 37th BCS general education cadre have called for a ‘No Promotion, No Work’ program starting Sunday, demanding promotion.
Approximately 2,400 lecturers from the general education cadre of the 32nd to the 37th BCS have been deprived of promotion. Among them, 405 individuals have about 13 years of service but have never received a promotion even once.
While speaking to TIMES of Bangladesh, promotion-deprived lecturers informed that although officers from various cadres of the 37th BCS received promotions in 2024, the promotion process for officers of the education cadre recruited in the aforementioned six BCS batches remains pending.
The lecturers allege that despite the government having no financial constraints regarding the promotion of qualified officers from batches 32 to 35 listed in the eligibility list, the ministry has blocked the promotion of lecturers from six BCS batches using the pretext that there are “cases” involving absorbed teachers who have been integrated into the cadre.
The teachers expecting promotion informed that, in response to the teachers’ demands, the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) meeting was held multiple times regarding promotion. Although the DPC committee made decisions on the promotion of the lecturers, it ultimately did not issue any order. Their promotion is stuck at the stage of the ministry issuing the order.
The ministry has informed the teachers that the issuance of the order is stuck due to cases involving the absorbed teachers. However, the promotion-deprived lecturers believe the Ministry of Education could easily resolve this issue if it wished.
Teachers who have been serving in the lecturer position for over a decade stated that absorbed teachers from various colleges joined as cadre officers after being regularised based on qualifications as per regulations formalised in 2000. However, in 2024, the ministry issued 54 orders violating that regulation.
As a result, nearly 2000 absorbed teachers received the opportunity to join as cadre officers.
The affected cadre officers applied to the Ministry of Education through the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) for the cancellation of these extra-legal orders. The directorate sent a letter to the senior secretary of the ministry requesting a resolution along with a report, but the ministry did not respond.
According to the lecturers, last December, there were 260 vacant Professor positions in government colleges. But 920 individuals were given batch-wise promotions. Subsequently, they were posted when positions became vacant
Regarding this matter, Member Secretary of the BCS Education Association, Associate Professor Dr Md Masud Rana Khan, told TIMES, “Many members of the education cadre from the 32nd to the 37th BCS have been deprived of promotion for 13 years. Their demand is logical. We support their demand.”
Assistant Director (Law) of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, Md Zakirul Islam Mondol added, “There was a discussion on this matter at the Ministry of Education last Thursday. There is a hearing on a stay order on Monday in favour of the BCS cadre lecturers. A solution might come after the hearing takes place.”
