Around 375,000 government primary school teachers across the country are observing a full-day strike for the second consecutive day, demanding fulfillment of their three main demands. Mohammad Shamsuddin Masud, president of the Bangladesh Primary School Assistant Teachers’ Association, has announced that the strike will continue in all 65,000 government primary schools nationwide until their demands are met.
In a video message on Tuesday (May 27), Masud criticized the government’s indifference, stating that despite repeated reminders, no effective steps have been taken to address the teachers’ demands. He said teachers feel neglected by the government and that repeated requests for dialogue have been ignored. According to him, the teachers feel cornered and will not back down until their demands are fulfilled.
Previously, the teachers had staged phased strikes: one hour daily from May 5 to 15, two hours daily from May 16 to 20, and half-day strikes from May 21 to 25.
Currently, assistant teachers receive salaries under Grade 13. Their main demand is to be placed at Grade 10, but in light of current circumstances, they are willing to accept Grade 11 as a starting point. They are also calling for resolving complications in promotions after 10 and 16 years of service and demanding 100% promotion to head teacher positions.
In a related update, Professor Dr. Bidhan Ranjan Roy Poddar, Advisor to the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, recently said that under the existing pay structure, assistant teachers will initially be appointed at Grade 12 and promoted to Grade 11 after four years. He added that the ministry is working to implement the recommendations of its advisory committee.
Currently, there are over 65,000 government primary schools employing about 400,000 teachers nationwide. Head teachers are paid under Grade 11, and a recent High Court ruling ordered their pay to be upgraded to Grade 10. Against this backdrop, assistant teachers have launched their movement demanding a higher pay grade.
