Scrapping appointment of 6,531 teachers: SC hearing on state's petition tomorrow

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court today fixed tomorrow for hearing a petition filed by the state seeking stay on the High Court verdict that scrapped a government decision to grant appointment letters to 6,531 candidates qualified for the post of assistant teachers of government primary schools.

A four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam set the date after Attorney General prayed for holding the hearing.

On February 6, the HC scrapped the government decision to grant appointment letters to 6,531 candidates, who qualified for the post of assistant teachers of government primary schools as their recruitment process was completed under the 84 percent quota system which was scrapped by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in July last year.

The HC also ordered the authorities concerned to appoint the candidates to those posts in line with the apex court verdict which has ruled that 93 percent jobs in civil service will be merit-based and remaining 7 percent will be from quota, writ petitioners' lawyers Barrister Mohammad Belayet Hossain, Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir and Barrister Foyez Uddin Ahmed told The Daily Star.

The HC bench of Justice Fatema Najib and Justice Sikder Mahmudur Razi came up with the directive following a writ petition filed by 31 candidates challenging the legality of the government decision to grant appointment letters to 6,531 candidates who qualified in the third phase for the post of assistant teachers of government primary schools last year.

Barrister Foez Uddin Ahmed said the appointment letters were supposed to be given to the 6,531 teachers from November 20 last year, but they were not given the letters as the HC on November 19 stayed the decision to grant the letters following the writ petition.

The final results for the third phase of the government primary school assistant teacher recruitment exams for Dhaka and Chattogram divisions (excluding the three hill districts) were published on October 31 last year where 6,531 candidates passed.