File photo of protesting assistant teachers. (Collected)
Following the High Court's decision to cancel the recruitment of assistant teachers in government primary schools, affected candidates from Dhaka and Chattogram divisions staged a sit-in at Shahbagh from Saturday morning.
Demonstrating for the tenth consecutive day, they reiterated their demand for reinstatement and announced a mass rally at Shahbagh on Sunday.
Talukdar Pias, a candidate from Nagarkanda upazila in Faridpur and one of the protest leaders, said that they planned to stay overnight at the Press Club. He also confirmed that Sunday's mass rally would include all affected candidates from Dhaka and Chattogram divisions, emphasizing their demand for reinstatement and condemning the reported police baton charge on female protesters.
Another leader, Mujibur Rahman, criticized the court's ruling as discriminatory. He pointed out that their recruitment notification, written exams, and interviews had taken place before the Supreme Court’s quota re-evaluation. He argued that the government had selected them based on legal procedures with input from the law and public administration ministries.
Meanwhile, the government has filed an appeal with the Appellate Division, seeking to suspend the High Court’s decision, which nullified the recruitment of approximately 6,500 teachers in Dhaka and Chattogram divisions.
Deputy Attorney General Md. Asad Uddin confirmed that the Directorate of Primary Education submitted the appeal last Thursday, with a Supreme Court Chamber Judge hearing scheduled for Sunday.
Despite previously vowing not to block roads, the protesters occupied the Shahbagh intersection last Thursday, prompting police to disperse them using batons and water cannons. Fourteen candidates were detained during the crackdown. Before that, they had staged sit-ins at the Directorate of Primary Education in Mirpur on Wednesday and at Shahbagh on Tuesday, where they had engaged in discussions with the Prime Minister’s Advisor on Primary and Mass Education, Dr. Bidhan Ranjan Roy Poddar.
On Monday, protesters had blocked Shahbagh once again, leading to police intervention. They have been demonstrating at Shahbagh since that night after initially gathering at the Press Club.
The protests began after the High Court, on February 6, canceled the recruitment of 6,531 quota-selected candidates in Dhaka and Chattogram divisions, ordering the publication of a revised merit-based result. The affected candidates have been protesting ever since, while the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education has appealed for a review of the verdict.
The dispute began when 30 job seekers filed a writ petition, leading the High Court to issue a six-month stay on recruitment on November 19. The final verdict was delivered on February 6, effectively halting the appointment of the selected candidates.
On February 7, the day after the ruling, protesters attempted to march toward the Chief Advisor’s residence at Jamuna but were dispersed by police using batons.
