Following the government’s decision to implement the 10th-grade salary for head teachers of government primary schools, primary teachers have called for a “grand assembly” demanding the 11th-grade salary. The event will be held on Saturday at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka.
The assembly has been organized by the alliance of six organizations of assistant teachers of government primary schools, called the Primary Assistant Teachers’ Organization Unity Council.
Mohammad Shamsuddin Masud, president of the Bangladesh Government Primary School Assistant Teachers’ Association, said: “We have long been campaigning for the 11th-grade salary. Although the government has repeatedly given assurances, our demand has not been implemented. While a decision has been made to provide the 10th-grade salary for head teachers, our demand remains unmet. This is why we have called for the grand assembly on Saturday.”
Leaders of the alliance emphasized that the report of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education’s consultation committee must be revised to set the entry-level assistant teachers’ salary at the 11th step of the national pay scale.
They also demanded that teachers fulfilling satisfactory service conditions should receive higher grades after 10 and 16 years of service, and that full promotion from assistant teacher to head teacher must be ensured. The grand assembly will press for these demands.
Teachers have been campaigning for the 11th-grade salary for years. On August 5 last year, after the fall of the previous Awami League government, the interim government was formed on August 8. Following this, the consultation committee of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education recommended a 12th-grade salary, while simultaneously taking steps to implement the 10th-grade salary for all head teachers.
In this context, assistant teachers of primary schools have called for the 11th-grade salary. Although the government has stated the matter will be resolved through a new pay scale, primary teachers are pressing for swift implementation of their demand.
