New Age | Teachers’ strike paralyzes public universities

Academic activities at Bangladesh’s public universities came to a standstill on Monday as teachers stayed away from work for an indefinite period and demanded the abolition of the universal pension scheme mandatory for newly recruited teachers.

There were no classes or exams at the universities and administrative work was also suspended at most colleges.

The teachers announced that they would continue their protests until their demands were met. Employees of various universities also took part in the strike, expressing their solidarity with the teachers.

The newly introduced pension instrument is aimed at new entrants into state autonomous and semi-autonomous institutions.

A day before the start of the implementation of a programme called “Prattay”, the Federation of Bangladesh University Teachers Association called for a boycott of classes, examinations and administrative work.

The teachers described the new pension instrument of the national pension authority as discriminatory and called for the abolition of this regulation and an independent salary structure for university lecturers.

They said that this would deter particularly high-performing students from taking up teaching as a profession, and described the new pension system as a conspiracy to destroy the education system.

New Age correspondents from various universities reported that the strike was enforced on Monday morning.

A correspondent from Dhaka University reported that on the first day, the teachers, officials and staff observed a day-long abstention by boycotting all classes and examinations, thereby bringing academic activities at the university to a standstill.

All administrative work was also suspended on Monday.

The previous Sunday, the DU Examination Office had announced that the examination would be postponed.

Addressing a rally on campus, DU Teachers’ Association General Secretary Professor Zeenat Huda said they have not heard anything from any level of government regarding their demands.

DU Vice-Chancellor (Administration) Professor Md Samad said that they would monitor the situation for a few more days and take further steps.

The DU Officers and Employees Unity Council also joined the strike on Monday.

Many officials and employees chanted slogans against the project in front of the registry building.

However, the DU administration celebrated “Dhaka University Day” on Monday in the presence of some teachers at the TSC to mark the founding day of the university.

New Age’s correspondent in Chattogram reported that academic and administrative activities at Chittagong University, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology and Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Science University came to a standstill on the day.

Regular classes and exams, evening programs, part-time programs, online and offline courses, and administrative activities at these universities have been suspended since this morning.

A correspondent from Jahangirnagar University reported that teachers under the banner of JU Teachers Association boycotted all academic and administrative activities.

In addition to classes, the teachers also suspended the planned final examination of the Institute of Business Administration.

At least 14 faculties of the university have suspended teaching operations in the wake of the protest.

Among others, the incumbent teachers of the University Central Library, the vice-rectors of the halls, the deans of the faculties, the directors of the institutes and the heads of the research centers stopped their administrative activities.

The JU Officers’ Association also conducted a half-day work abstention program on Monday.

New Age’s correspondent in Rajshahi reported that teachers at Rajshahi University and Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology boycotted all classes and exams indefinitely from Monday.

However, the offices and classrooms of most faculties on both campuses were open.

Professor M Humayun Kabir, Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Rajshahi University, said that although all classes were boycotted on the day, some administrative work was still carried out.

A New Age correspondent in Sylhet reported that teachers of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology joined the strike on the first day of their indefinite work stoppage.

Officials and employees of the university also joined the strike and expressed their solidarity.

In addition, teachers at Sylhet Agricultural University and Habiganj Agricultural University also started staying away from work indefinitely.

Teachers from Jagannath University, Khulna University, Barishal University and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology also took part in the strike.

The Samajtantrik Chhatra Front expressed its solidarity with the teachers’ movement in a statement released on Monday and described the program as discriminatory.

The Official Gazette published on March 14 made it mandatory for all civil servants and employees entering autonomous and semi-autonomous state institutions from July 1, 2024, to be included in the new pension instrument.

The new pension regulations do not apply to government officials.

Under the Prattay program, new teachers would have to contribute about 10 percent to the pension scheme and a similar amount to the provident fund, which the teachers said would place a heavy burden on them at the beginning of their careers.