New Age | Strike of teachers at state universities lasts half a month

Monday marked half a month since public university teachers implemented their work abstention program, demanding the abolition of the new general pension system, Prattay, which they described as discriminatory.

The teachers have rejected a recent government call to return to work and decided to continue their general strike until all their three demands are met, including the inclusion of teachers in state universities in the special pay scale under which senior secretaries are also paid, and the introduction of an independent pay structure for teachers in state universities.

The Bangladesh University Teachers’ Association imposed a boycott of classes and exams starting July 1, the day the pension scheme came into effect.

They continued the strike on Monday for the 15th consecutive day, paralyzing all academic activities.

General university staff also joined the strike and suspended administrative activities.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said at a press conference on Sunday that there was some confusion among the protesting teachers regarding the pension scheme and that the scheme had already been clarified to them.

“Yet they continue the strike, and so be it,” she said, adding: “Let them get tired, then I will say something.”

On Saturday, the general secretary of the ruling Awami League, Obaidul Quader, asked the teachers at a meeting to call off their strike and assured them that their demands would be considered at a later date.

Quader, who is also Minister of Road Transport and Bridges, said that teachers would not be included in the pension system until July 2025 and not this year.

However, an official announcement of March 14 required all civil servants and employees entering autonomous and semi-autonomous state institutions from July 1, 2024, to integrate into the new pension instrument.

Union leaders said their main demand was to keep teachers out of the regulatory arena and not to delay the inclusion process.

Thirty-five of the country’s 55 public universities are represented by the teachers’ association because they have rectors and other key officials and have ongoing academic activities, the association leaders said.

On Monday, New Age correspondents at Dhaka, Jahangirnagar, Rajshahi, Kushtia and Chattogram universities reported that teachers, officials and other staff of these two universities as well as Rajshahi University, Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology, Islamic University in Kushtia, Chittagong University, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology and Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Science University continued their abstention programme and suspended all academic activities, including classes and examinations, and administrative work.

Academic activities and administrative work also came to a halt at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, and no academic activities were held at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University on Monday, while some administrative work continued.