Primary Teachers Escalate Protest, Seek Two Advisers’ Exit

Government primary school teachers continue a sit-in at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka.

Government primary school teachers have begun a continuous sit-in at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka while enforcing a full-day work abstention across the country, protesting what they described as a violent police crackdown on their peaceful demonstration.

The Primary Teachers’ Demand Implementation Council has called for the resignation of the Home Affairs Adviser and the Primary and Mass Education Adviser, holding them responsible for Saturday’s police action at Shahbagh. The council issued its statement on Sunday, signed by its convener, teacher leader Mohammad Shamsuddin Masud.

On Saturday afternoon, hundreds of primary teachers from across the country gathered in Dhaka to press home their long-standing three-point demand. The rally was met with baton charges, tear gas, water cannons and sound grenades as police dispersed demonstrators at Shahbagh. Over a hundred teachers were reportedly injured.

Teachers alleged that the police action was “entirely unprovoked” and intended to suppress their movement. Police, however, claimed they intervened after a section of protesters attempted to move toward the chief adviser’s residence in the Jamuna area.

The protest leaders rejected this explanation, accusing the authorities of undermining teachers’ dignity instead of resolving their legitimate demands. Following the clash, the teachers announced an indefinite sit-in at the Shaheed Minar and declared a nationwide work abstention, which took effect Sunday.

Bangladesh currently has 65,567 government primary schools, enrolling more than 10.6 million students and employing around 383,624 teachers, of whom roughly 350,000 are assistant teachers.

Assistant teachers are presently placed in the 13th grade of the national pay scale. Their principal demand is upgrading their scale to the 10th grade. The teachers argue that the existing grade fails to reflect their workload, professional responsibilities and the role they play as the foundation of the country’s education system.

Their other key demands include:

100 percent departmental promotion opportunities.

Higher-grade benefits after completing 10 and 16 years of service, respectively.

Teacher representatives stated that the movement would continue until their demands are met and those responsible for the police action are held accountable. They also urged the government to open immediate dialogue to prevent prolonged disruption in the primary education sector.