The Primary Teacher Coordination Council has demanded the elevation of primary assistant teachers to the 10th grade and 100 per cent departmental promotions to address discrimination.
Speakers highlighted these issues during a press conference held at the press club on Friday, said a press release.
In a written statement, Shahinur Akhtar, president of the National Primary Assistant Teachers Foundation, noted that the last national pay scale was announced in 2015, during which primary teachers continued to face discrimination. Over the past decade, rising living costs had left primary teachers struggling to cope with market prices. Promises of salary increases, made during the tenure of previous authoritarian governments, had yet to be realised.
She stated that the 2015 pay scale established 20 grades, with the maximum salary difference between the 20th and 11th grades set at Tk 800. However, the gap between the 10th and 1st grades had been set at up to Tk 12,000, resulting in no improvement in the living standards of 13th grade assistant teachers and 11th grade head teachers.
Shahinur added that promotions to head teacher positions, which had been stalled since 2009, had yet to see any progress. Many primary teachers were retiring in the same position, they joined. Additionally, promotions for head teachers had been blocked as well.
The statement further mentioned that the ministry of primary and mass education had proposed 12th grade designation for assistant teachers, 11th grade for assistant head teachers, and 10th grade for head teachers to alleviate disparities. The Primary Teacher Coordination Council had rejected this proposal, insisting on the demand for 10th grade and 100 per cent departmental promotions from the entry-level position.
The following programmes were announced at the event.
A human chain and submission of a memorandum to the chief adviser through the district commissioner’s office on October 3.
A human chain at key locations in divisional cities and submission of a memorandum to the chief adviser through the divisional commissioner on October 8.
If no necessary actions are taken by October 17, a human chain at the national press club and submission of a memorandum to the chief adviser will be held on October 19, along with additional announcements regarding future programmes.
The press conference was attended by Md Aminul Haque, Gaziul Haque Chowdhury, Asma Khanam, Sabera Begum, Md Mojammel Hossain, Kamrul Hasan, Md Mizanur Rahman, Md Anwar Ullah, Promothesh Dutta, Md Anjarul Islam, Wayeis Chowdhury, TM Zakir Hossain, Gazi Salauddin, Robiul Awal, Shibaji Biswas, Md Jahangir, Ahsan Habib, and Md Masud, among others.source: newage
