Teachers at 101 government primary schools in Jhenaigati upazila of Sherpur district have enforced a “complete shutdown”, demanding fulfilment of their three-point charter of demands.
The programme, called by Primary Teachers’ Demand Implementation Council, began on Wednesday (3 December) morning, bringing all academic activities, including ongoing annual examinations, to a halt.
A visit on Wednesday at round 11 AM revealed that all classrooms at Jhenaigati Government Model Primary School were found locked. No teaching activities were taking place, and hundreds of teachers from various schools under the upazila were seen gathering on the school premises.
Those present included Monowara Begum, convener of the Bangladesh Primary Teachers’ Association, Jhenaigati unit; member secretary SM Rozan; and joint convener Md Alomgir Hossain.
Priyanti, a fifth grader at the school, said, “We had our Bangla exam today. I prepared really well, but now I learnt it has been postponed.”
Nadia Akhter, a guardian, said, “My daughter is in fourth grade. She also had her Bangla exam. Now we hear all exams and academic activities are suspended due to the teachers’ movement. If the exams do not finish on time, our planned visit to her grandparents’ home will be delayed.”
Md Alomgir Hossain, joint convener of the Bangladesh Primary Teachers’ Association’s Jhenaigati unit, said they were observing the shutdown across 101 schools as per the central committee’s directive, and their programme would continue until further instructions.
Upazila Education Officer Farhana Parvin said they visited several institutions and found that no examinations were held.
“Teachers are enforcing the complete shutdown to press home their demands. The matter has been reported to the competent authorities,” she added.
JHM/NSA
