The Appellate Division has ordered the republication of the results of 46,199 candidates who sat for the 2023 recruitment examination for government primary school assistant teachers in Dhaka and Chittagong divisions, based on merit instead of the quota system.
The court also directed the authorities to appoint 151 writ petitioners as assistant teachers within 60 days.
The order was passed by the Appellate Division headed by the chief justice while disposing of an appeal against a High Court judgment on Thursday.
Senior lawyer Advocate Tajul Islam represented the writ petitioners during the hearing.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Tajul Islam said a recruitment circular issued in 2023 allocated 84% of the posts through the quota system then in force.
He said 151 candidates challenged the recruitment process, arguing that following the Supreme Court's judgment abolishing the quota system, appointments should be made primarily on merit.
The High Court subsequently declared the recruitment process illegal and ordered the appointment of the 151 petitioners. The government later appealed the verdict.
According to Tajul Islam, the Appellate Division disposed of the appeal with three directives.
First, it ordered the appointment of the 151 writ petitioners within 60 days.
Second, it directed the authorities to republish the results of 46,199 candidates in line with the Supreme Court's judgment in Civil Petition (CP) No. 2516 of 2024, which struck down the quota-based recruitment system and restored merit-based appointments.
Third, the court upheld the appointments of 6,531 assistant teachers who had already been recruited while the case was pending, citing the interest of justice.
The ruling effectively reaffirms the Supreme Court's position that appointments should be made on the basis of merit rather than the previous quota system.