The protest by aspiring assistant teachers for government primary schools has entered its 23rd consecutive day. On Friday evening, the candidates gathered at the Central Shaheed Minar under the banner of 'March for Justice', lighting candles and staging a sit-in demonstration to press for their demands.
Earlier in the day, they held a protest in front of the National Museum at Shahbagh before marching to the Shaheed Minar as part of their ongoing movement.
The protest began on February 6, led by 6,531 candidates from the third phase of recruitment recommendations for assistant teachers in the Dhaka and Chittagong divisions.
The demonstrators claim that due to a lack of government intervention, a recent court ruling went against them, leading to the cancellation of their appointments. They have called for an immediate reversal of the decision, warning that the movement will continue indefinitely if their demands are not met.
According to the protesters, those recommended in the first and second phases have already joined their positions as assistant teachers, while third-phase candidates are now left struggling. The government had finalized the selection of 6,531 candidates, but a legal challenge from unsuccessful applicants resulted in the cancellation of their recruitment.
The candidates argue that their hiring process was in its final stages before the sudden cancellation. On November 11, 2024, the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education issued recruitment orders, followed by district-level school placement orders on December 5 and 8.
The recommended candidates had already completed medical tests, submitted necessary documents for police verification, and, in many cases, received their appointment letters. However, their school placements were yet to be finalized when the court ruling halted the process.
As a result, thousands of families are now facing uncertainty. Many candidates had resigned from other government jobs in anticipation of their new roles, while others have exceeded the age limit for applying to future government positions. The protesters insist that they will not back down until their recruitment is reinstated.
