The High Court has questioned the quota system in recruiting teachers in government primary schools.
It has issued a rule upon the concerned bodies of the government to explain as to why Sections 8 (2) (Ga) and 8 (2) (Gha) of the ‘Government Primary School Teacher Recruitment Rules, 2019’ those deal with the recruitment of the teachers based on different quotas should not be declared unconstitutional.
Law Secretary, Public Administration Secretary, Education Secretary, and Director General of the Directorate of Primary Education have been asked to comply with the rule within four weeks.
The High Court bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Biswajit Debnath passed the order on Thursday after hearing a writ petition filed by 152 job seekers.
In the rule, the HC also wanted to know from the respondents as to why they should not be directed to appoint the writ petitioners in the vacant posts of their respective district or upazila according to the merit list.
Advocate Shamim Sardar appeared in the court hearing on behalf of the writ petitioners, while Additional Attorney General Sk Md Morshed and Deputy Attorney General Tushar kanti Roy represented the state.
The Directorate of Primary Education issued a circular on October 18 in 2020 to recruit teachers. The writ petitioners applied for the job and they appeared in the viva voce after qualifying for the written test. However, finally, they didn’t get the job.
Now they are claiming that they have been deprived of the job due to the quota system described in the rules.
A total of 60 per cent of the vacant posts will be fulfilled by female candidates, 20 per cent by the dependant candidates and the remaining 20 per cent by male candidates, according to Sections 8(2)(Ga) and 8(2)(Gha) of the ‘Government Primary School Teacher Recruitment Rules, 2019’.
It also provides that 20 per cent of the total teachers must be recruited from science graduates. If 20 per cent of science graduates could not be found, then the authorities will follow the merit list.
Lawyer Shamim Sarder said a 20 per cent man quota is discriminatory. That is why we have challenged the quota system of the rules, he added.
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