Secondary school teachers continue demo

Additional Class Teachers, a section of secondary school teachers who were recruited under a three-year-long project of the government, yesterday announced that they would stage a symbolic hunger strike today.

Several hundred of the teachers, under the banner of Bangladesh Additional Class Teacher (ACT) Association, made the announcement during their sit-in demonstration that they held for the second consecutive day, demanding regularisation of their jobs.

The sit-in, held in front of Jatiya Press Club in the capital, resumed around 8:00am yesterday and continued till midnight.

Mahi Uddin, joint secretary of the association, told the newspaper that since they were yet to get any assurance from the government regarding their demand, they decided to declare the symbolic hunger strike.

“We have no option left. At the present situation, we can neither apply for government jobs [as most are above the age of 30], nor have our current jobs been made permanent,” said Mahi.

In 2015, the government recruited a total of 5,200 ACTs under a World Bank-funded project to improve mathematics, science and English skills of students at secondary schools.

The payments of the ACTs were halted after the project ended in December of 2017. Despite the fact, some 4,500 of them continued teaching at the schools as the government, on several occasions, had assured them of making their jobs permanent.

On October 23 last year, police foiled another attempt of staging an indefinite hunger strike by the ACTs.