Government primary school assistant teachers are set to start a continuous sit-in demonstration at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka from Saturday, pressing for three major demands including salary upgrade to the 10th grade.
The protest is being organized under the banner of Prathomik Shikkhok Dabi Bastobayan Parishad, an alliance of four teacher associations. Newly recruited teachers have also announced their participation.
Their three-point demand includes upgrading assistant teachers’ salaries to the 10th grade, resolving complexities over higher-grade benefits after 10 and 16 years of service, and ensuring 100 percent departmental promotion.
The participating organizations are Bangladesh Primary Teachers Association (Kashem-Shahin), Bangladesh Primary School Assistant Teachers Association, Bangladesh Primary Teachers Association (Shahin-Lipi), and Assistant Teachers 10th Grade Implementation Council. Teachers appointed in the third phase in Dhaka and Chattogram divisions have also expressed solidarity with the movement.
Khairun Nahar Lipi, general secretary of Bangladesh Primary Teachers Association (Shahin-Lipi), said around 20,000 teachers will join the sit-in on Saturday to demand the 10th grade salary, higher-grade benefits, and promotion rights. “We’ve talked to officials many times, but nothing has changed. This time, we’ll stay on the streets until our demands are met,” she said.
According to the Directorate of Primary Education, there are 65,567 government primary schools across the country employing about 384,000 teachers.
In April, the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education moved to upgrade the salaries of headteachers from the 11th to the 10th grade and assistant teachers from the 13th to the 12th grade. However, assistant teachers expressed dissatisfaction, demanding parity with other professions that require similar or lower qualifications but receive higher pay grades.
Khairun Nahar Lipi noted, “Administrative officers, nurses, sub-inspectors of police, and secondary school assistant teachers—all get 10th-grade pay with similar or even lower qualifications. We deserve the same.”
Talukder Piyas, a representative of newly recruited teachers from Dhaka and Chattogram divisions, said, “Primary teachers are the foundation of the nation’s education system. Ensuring fair pay and respect for them is essential for quality education. The 10th-grade demand is both logical and just.”
Meanwhile, another platform of teachers, Prathomik Shohayok Shikkhok Songothon Oikya Parishad, has given the government until November 15 to fulfill their demands, including 11th-grade pay and promotion benefits.
Failing that, they have announced a series of programs — half-day work stoppages on November 23–24, full-day work abstentions on November 25–26, a sit-in at the Directorate of Primary Education on November 27, and an indefinite hunger strike from December 11.
