Primary teachers’ timescale facilities: Appellate Division asks HC to dispose of writ petition

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court today asked the High Court to hear and dispose of the writ petition filed challenging the government decision over taking back timescale facilities given to 48,720 government primary school teachers in three weeks.

The HC bench led by JBM Hassan has been asked to settle the writ petition through hearing in three weeks after receiving the apex court order, writ petitioner's lawyer Moksadul Islam told The Daily Star.

He said the Appellate Division, however, kept its chamber judge's order intact that had earlier stayed the HC directive which halted the government decision over returning the timescale facilities from primary school teachers.  

A four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain passed the order after hearing a petition filed by writ petitioner Aminul Islam Chowdhury seeking cancelation of the chamber judge's stay order.

Lawyer Moksadul Islam told The Daily Star that the finance ministry on August 12 last year issued a notification for taking back the timescale facilities given to 48,720 teachers of primary schools which were nationalised in 2013.

The finance ministry said in the notification that the timescale facilities given to primary school teachers can be taken back as that was given by the primary and mass education ministry without taking approval from the finance ministry, the lawyer said.

Moksadul Islam said there is no need for primary and mass education ministry to take approval from the finance ministry to give timescale facilities to government primary school teachers.