The High Court on Monday issued a ruling regarding the calculation of ‘job tenure’ from the date of starting job as assistant teachers at the government primary schools, who have been transferred to other upazilas.
In the ruling, the High Court wanted to know from the respondents to explain in four weeks as to why their inaction in calculating the job tenure of the assistant teachers, who have been transferred to other upazilas, should not be declared illegal.
The court also wanted to know from the respondents to explain as to why they should not be directed to include the writ petitioners' names in the gradation list prepared for promotion to the post of headmaster by calculating their job tenure from the date of their first joining in the posts of assistant teacher in government primary schools.
High Court bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahima and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed by Sabikun Nahar and 36 other assistant teachers of the government primary schools who were transferred in different upazilas across the country.
Primary and Mass Education secretary, director general of the Directorate of the Primary Education and two other respondents have been asked to comply with the ruling within four weeks.
Lawyer Siddique Ullah Miah appeared in the hearing on behalf of the petitioners, while deputy attorney general Bepul Bagmar represented the state.
Later Mr Siddique Ullah Miah said, “The Directorate of Primary Education has recently undertaken an initiative of finalizing the gradation list for the promotion of assistant teachers to the post of headmaster. The teachers were asked to fill up a form through online process since last month. The form included questions--- whether you are an external teacher or not and when did you join this upazila?”
“Primary teachers are recruited on upazila basis. But when a teacher gets transfer to other upazila he is being treated as an external teacher by the administration. On the question of promotion to the post of the headmaster, the assistant teachers across the country have become divided into two divisions, external and local.”
“The job tenure of the transferred teachers is being calculated from the joining of their last working place which is totally discriminatory and contrary to the promotion policy of the primary teachers,” added the lawyer.
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