Work abstention of Bangladesh’s teachers may disrupt admission tests

Public university teachers have threatened that the upcoming admission tests to the universities will be disrupted if their four-point demand is not met soon.
"Teachers at almost all the public universities want to boycott the scheduled admission tests. We will take a decision after holding a meeting," said Prof ASM Maksud Kamal, secretary general of Federation of Bangladesh University Teachers Association (FBUTA).

FBUTA, a platform for public university teachers, yesterday observed daylong stoppage at all 37 state-run universities.

During a two-hour sit-in in front of the Oporajeyo Bangla at Dhaka University yesterday morning, the federation leaders said they will go for a tougher movement in the form of continuous work stoppage after the Eid holiday if the government does not hold any discussion soon with them about fulfilling their demands.

Rejecting the finance minister, FBUTA President Prof Farid Uddin Ahmed said, "From his speech in the media it seemed that the minister is a representative of the bureaucrats, not of the people. Therefore, we don't think the teachers would get justice from him."

An FBUTA press release yesterday said that in place of the finance minister, teachers want a public representative who is accepted by all.

Federation leaders also said they will sit with Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid tomorrow to discuss their demands.

"The minister has requested us over the phone to sit with him," said Prof Maksud.

Teachers will continue demonstrations till their demands, which include immediate revision of the 8th national pay scale and a separate salary structure for them, are met, he added.

Teachers under the banner of FBUTA have been demonstrating since May 14 to press their four-point demand.

Things, however, turned for the worse after the government approved the new pay scale for all government employees on September 7 with retrospective effect from July 2015.

FBUTA leaders have intensified their agitation programmes since then.

They complained that the post of selection grade professors (senior teachers) has been abolished in the new pay scale although bureaucrats have got a special grade for themselves.

Their four-point demand includes keeping senior professors and senior secretaries at an equal level of payment and benefits as enjoyed by the same grade of government officials.

There are over 13,000 teachers at 37 public universities in the country.