Primary edu teachers, officials call for reforms, salary hikes

Teachers and officials formed a human chain in front of the Directorate of Primary Education in Mirpur, Dhaka today afternoon, advocating for the establishment of a primary education cadre and the removal of administrative officials from top positions within the primary education sector. 

The protest was organised by two groups: “Primary Education Family to Eliminate Discrimination” and “Anti-Discrimination Primary Teacher Coordination Council”.

Participants accused administrative officials of depriving teachers and officials by occupying top posts such as the director general, director, and deputy director of the primary education department. They also criticised the new curriculum as “isolated from the people and unacceptable”, calling for its revision and demanding a corruption-free primary education system.

Ishrat Nasima Habib, Assistant District Primary Education Officer of Gazipur, presented the officials’ demands. These include implementing child rights through primary education reforms, amending the curriculum quickly, developing an international standard teacher training curriculum, creating a primary education cadre with guaranteed promotions, ensuring transparency and accountability in primary education projects, and eradicating corruption.

Khairun Nahar Lipi, an assistant teacher at Mohammadpur Government Primary School, voiced the teachers’ demands. These include increasing assistant teachers’ salaries to grade 10, upgrading head teachers’ salaries to grade 9, promoting work teachers to headmaster positions after five years, standardising school hours from 10 am to 3 pm, appointing office bearers and computer operators in every primary school, providing regular international standard training for teachers, and stopping harassment of teachers, officers, and employees.

Lipi emphasised, “Our student brothers are striving to eliminate discrimination in the country. We aim to ensure that primary education is non-discriminatory and free from the farce that has plagued teachers and officials for so long. Teachers should not be burdened with census work, voter list updates, or election duties outside the classroom.”

The human chain saw participation from teachers and education officials across various areas of Dhaka and its neighbouring regions.