Pry teachers stage sit-in demanding 10th salary grade

The assistant teachers of government primary schools have started their pre-announced ‘March for Dignity’ programme, demanding an upgrade of their salary grade from 13th to 10th.

The protest began with a sit-in in front of the Directorate of Primary Education in Mirpur, Dhaka, at 11:30 am on Wednesday. By 1:00 pm, over a thousand teachers were seen staging the sit-in in front of the Directorate’s main gate, chanting various slogans against discrimination.

Md Mahbubur Rahman, Coordinator of the 10th Grade Implementation Coordination Committee for Primary School Assistant Teachers, told Jago News, “We have been demanding the 10th grade for a long time. This is a demand that comes from the heart of assistant teachers. Earlier, we held a rally at the Central Shaheed Minar. On that day, a march towards Jamuna was initiated, and later, representatives of the teachers were invited and assured."

He added, “On February 9, the Director General (DG) and Additional DG of the Directorate of Primary Education assured us they would take responsibility for implementing the 10th grade for assistant teachers. Because of this assurance, we postponed the March for Dignity programme scheduled for February 11."

“However, the recommendations made by the advisory committee formed for primary education reforms were rejected by us. Our only demand is the implementation of the 10th grade. We will continue our movement until this demand is met.”