Staff Reporter :The head teachers of government primary schools on Sunday threatened to wage non-stop programme from October 6, if their demands regarding a separate pay scale, selection grade and time scale are not met by the time.”If our demands are not met by September 30 we will observe three hours work abstention (9:00am to 12:00noon) from October 3 to October 5. And if the government doesn’t pay heed to our demands, we will go for non-stop programme across the country from October 6,” Bangladesh Government Primary Head Teachers’ Association (BGPHTA) Convener Riaz Parvej told journalists in a press conference at the National Press Club in city.He also warned of boycotting the Primary School Certificate (PSC) examinations, if their demands are not met.”We will be compelled to boycott PSC examinations to press home our demand. Wrapping black clothes to our chairs, we will also boycott the chairs from October 1 to October 10,” Riaz Parvej said.The association leaders also demanded of the government to include them in the national pay scale as tenth grade and declare them as second class gazetted officers. They said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had upgraded their status to Grade 2 from Grade 3 and enhanced the scale of government primary school Head Teachers on March 9, 2014. But it is a great disappointment to teachers as the pledge is yet to be effective. They are not being paid according to that scale and the public administration ministry is yet to clear the matter. The association leaders demanded filling up thousands of vacant posts of the head teachers by promoting assistant head teachers to the post.They also demanded reinstatement of selection grade and time scale, and autonomous pay scale for teachers and cent percent promotion. They sought the Prime Minister’s attention into the matter.Meanwhile, academic activities of government colleges were badly affected as teachers on Sunday observed work abstention protesting ‘discrimination’ in the new pay-scale and cancellation of the time-scale and selection grade.Academic activities, including class and examination, at the colleges could not be held due to the prescheduled two-day protest programme on Saturday and Sunday.The teachers of 305 government colleges observed the works abstention.The National University was forced to postpone examination due to the protest programme by teachers and the government will also accept their demands, they said.
