The Bangladesh Civil Service’s education cadre teachers and officers across the country staged a three-day work abstention beginning from Tuesday, demanding promotion and an end to the discriminations existing among different cadres of the BCS.
Around 26 lakh students in 701 the government colleges and madrassahs that offer courses between Class XI and master degree will be affected as all academic and official activities in these institutions are likely to be closed during the strike.
Official activities at the government teacher’s training colleges and different government offices, including the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, will also remain suspended during the period.
Under the banner of Public Service Education Cadre Teachers and Officers, the demonstrators observed their first strike across the country on October 2 to press home their demands.
On Tuesday no classes or examinations were held at Dhaka College.
The students were seen reading in the library.
Teachers of the college held a discussion at the college auditorium supporting the strike.
Some teachers alleged that Dhaka College principal, Professor Mohammed Yousuf, was working at his office.
Professor Mohammed Yousuf said that he was not doing any works of the college but doing some works for hostels’ staffs.
The association leaders at the discussion warned that they would go for tougher action if their demands were not addressed soon.
The association secretary general, Shawkat Hossain Mollah, told that the authorities concerned were yet to contact with them in this regard.
No examinations, form fill-ups and official activities at the government colleges and other relevant offices will be carried out in October 10–12.
The association leaders would hold a meeting on Tuesday night to fix their next course of movement, he added.
The major demands of the association are — elimination of the inter-cadre discriminations; promotion in supernumerary positions; upgrading the professor position, currently in the fourth grade, to the third grade; promotion for all qualified officers based on availability; earned leaves facilities; protection of cadre composition; cancellation of officer recruitment rules of the Directorate of Primary Education and Directorate of Madrasah Education; removal of outsiders from the education cadre; creation of more positions; and appointing education cadre recruits at the district and upazila education offices.
According to the association leaders, a proposal for creating 12,444 more positions in the government colleges has been pending for about nine years. At present, the government colleges have 16,000 stationed positions for teachers.
Over 7,000 education cadre officers at different levels were waiting for promotion for the past two years with only 690 of them got promotion most recently on September 27, they said.
BCS General Education Association leaders alleged that they are in an existential crisis right now because the administration cadre officers are trying to abolish the education cadre itself from the civil service.
