M M Jasim :
Responding to the Education Ministry’s proposal, the leaders of the Federation of Bangladesh University Teachers’ Association (FBUTA) are preparing a new proposal to submit to the ministry to press home their demands. It will be submitted by Saturday, sources said.
“We are going to prepare a new proposal as per the direction of the Education Ministry and will submit it by Saturday,” FBUTA President Professor Farid Uddin Ahmed told The New Nation on Thursday.
He also said, the demands are almost same, but the process to meet the demands could be different.
On Wednesday, the Education Ministry asked the leaders of FBUTA to submit a new proposal to resolve the crisis soon.
He also affirmed that discussion between the teachers and government could deliver dignified, peaceful and honourable solution to the disparity in the 8th National Pay Scale.
“We believe there will exist no more crisis if the government sits with us,” said Professor Farid Uddin Ahmed on Thursday morning, on the 4th day of their strike.
“We do not want to continue our movement affecting the academic activities. We want to return to our classes,” he said. The government should, however, be cordial to us.
He again blamed the bureaucrats for misguiding the Prime Minister about our position and social status. The bureaucrats did not place our demands properly to the Prime Minister. That is why the teachers did not get good response from the government, he said.
Secretary General of FBUTA Professor AFM Maksud Kamal said, “We are demonstrating not only for a hike in our salaries, we are fighting to protect our prestige also and we will not cease from agitation until our demand for a revised pay scale is met.”
The teachers of the country’s all the 37 public universities have been boycotting the classes since January with determination of not budging an inch even unless their demands are met.
The final examinations and the other academic activities continued, but the mid-term examination has been cancelled. Their four-point demand includes formation of an independent pay scale for public university teachers, immediate revision of the 8th National Pay Scale, and keeping senior professor and senior secretaries at par.
