Assistant teachers of government primary schools began an indefinite work abstention and exam boycott on Sunday, pressing a three-point demand that includes upgrading their pay scale to the 11th grade.
According to the protesters, 18 days have passed since senior officials of the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education assured them of progress in discussions, yet no visible development has taken place.
The Primary Teachers’ Demand Implementation Council, one of the teachers’ platforms, issued a statement on Saturday.
The council expressed gratitude to teachers across the country for spontaneously observing a full-day work abstention on 27 November in response to its earlier call.
It said they would not allow the sacrifice of Fatema Akter and the blood of more than two hundred fellow teachers to go in vain.
The statement added that, due to the lack of visible progress from the Finance Ministry on implementing the three-point demands, teachers would continue their full-day work abstention and exam boycott from Sunday.
Their other demands include resolving complexities regarding higher-grade benefits after 10 and 16 years of service and ensuring 100 percent departmental promotion from assistant teacher to head teacher.
