Teachers reverse decision, again start work abstention

Assistant teachers of government primary schools reversed their work abstention decision late on Sunday, hours after withdrawing their sit-in.

At an early hours, they announced that their non-stop sit-in programme would continue alongside the strike.

After a meeting with government representatives at the Secretariat on Sunday night, Mohammad Shamsuddin Masud, central convener of the Primary Assistant Teachers’ Unity Council, announced the withdrawal decision.

The suspension of the teachers’ strike was also announced in a press statement from the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education and in a statement issued by the Directorate of Information.

During that meeting on Sunday, the teachers presented three main demands– upgrading assistant teachers’ current salary from Grade 13 to Grade 10, resolving complexities in obtaining higher grades after 10 and 16 years of service, and ensuring 100 percent departmental promotion from assistant teacher to head teacher. After detailed discussions, the ministry assured that the Finance Ministry would be informed and steps would be taken to address the issues promptly.

According to the Directorate of Primary Education, the country has 65,567 government primary schools, all of which were affected by the strike.