Government primary school teachers have announced work stoppage from Sunday after a police crackdown on protesters demanding 10th-grade pay. The announcement follows Saturday afternoon’s police action against a march of assistant teachers demanding 10th-grade pay and two other demands. The work stoppage is being conducted under the banner of the Primary Teachers’ Demand Implementation Council, a coalition of four teacher organisations:Primary Teachers’ 10th Grade Implementation CouncilBangladesh Primary Teachers’ Association (Kashem-Shahin)Bangladesh Primary School Assistant Teachers’ AssociationBangladesh Primary Teachers’ Association (Shahin-Lipi)According to the Directorate of Primary Education, Bangladesh has 65,567 government primary schools, employing 384,000 teachers. Earlier, on Apr 24, the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education upgraded head teachers’ pay from 11th to 10th grade and teachers with 13th-grade pay to 12th grade, but assistant teachers remain dissatisfied. Separately, assistant teachers under the Primary Assistant Teachers’ Unity Council issued a Nov 15 deadline for government action on 11th-grade pay, promotion complications, and 100 percent divisional promotion.
