The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a High Court order that asked the government to give salaries under the 10th grade to 45 head teachers of the government primary schools.
A three-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order after rejecting a leave to appeal petition filed by the state against the High Court verdict.
The post of headmaster was given second class status on March 09 in 2014. As per the status the primary headmasters were supposed to get 10th grade of the government pay scale.
But the ministry strategically fixed the salary scale to the 11th grade for the trained head teachers and 12th grade for the untrained head teachers, whereas other second-class officials are given the 10th grade of the pay scale.
Then 45 headmasters including Reaz Parvez, president of Bangladesh Government Primary Headmasters Association, filed a writ petition with the HC seeking necessary orders to this effect.
Following the petition the High Court bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Khizir Ahmed Choudhury issued a rule on March 05, 2018, in this regard and after detailed hearing the court delivered the verdict on February 25 in 2019.
In the verdict the High Court asked the government to give salary under the 10th grade to the 45 head teachers of the government primary schools and to include them in the Official Gazette as second class officers.
But the state filed leave to appeal petition against the High Court verdict. After hearing, the apex court rejected the petition on Thursday.
As per the verdict, both the trained and non-trained headmasters of the primary schools will get the salary under the 10th grade from March 09, 2014.
Lawyer Salauddin Dolon appeared in the hearing on behalf of the writ petitioners, while Deputy Attorney General Samarendra Nath Biswas represented the state.
Later Mr Salauddin said only the writ petitioners will get the benefit of the apex court decision.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on March 09, 2014 directed the authorities concerned to give the head teachers the second-class status (10th grade) and the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education issued a gazette notification on the same day.
But the ministry strategically fixed the salary scale to the 11th grade for the trained head teachers and 12th grade for the untrained head teachers, whereas the other second-class officials are given the 10th grade of the pay scale.