Half a month passed on Monday of the work abstention programme enforced by the teachers of public universities, demanding the cancellation of the new universal pension scheme Prattay, terming it discriminatory.
Turning down a recent call from the government to return to work, the teachers have decided to continue their general strike until all three of their demands, including inclusion of public university teachers in the super grade under which senior secretaries are paid, and setting up of an independent pay structure for public university teachers, are met.
The Federation of Bangladesh University Teachers Associations enforced a boycott of classes and examinations from July 1, the day when the pension scheme came into effect.
They continued the strike on Monday for the 15th day running, shutting all academic activities.
The general staff of the universities also joined the strike, halting the administrative activities.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina at a press conference on Sunday said that the protesting teachers had some confusions about the pension scheme and the teachers were already clarified about the scheme.
‘Still they are continuing the strike and so be it,’ she said, adding, ‘let them grow tired, I will say something then.’
On Saturday, ruling Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader at a meeting urged the teachers to call off their strike, assuring them of considering their demands later.
Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, said that the teachers would come under the pension scheme from July 2025, not from this year.
A gazette notification issued on March 14, however, made it mandatory for all officials and employees who would join state-owned autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies from July 1, 2024 onwards to get included in the new pension instrument.
The federation leaders said that their prime demand was to keep the teachers out of the purview of the scheme and not to defer the inclusion process.
Among the 55 public universities in the country, 35 are represented by the teachers’ federation as these have vice-chancellors and other key officials and have ongoing academic activities, the federation leaders said.
On Monday, ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· correspondents in Dhaka University, Jahangirnagar University, Rajshahi, Kushtia and Chattogram reported that teachers, officers and other staff of these two universities and also in Rajshahi University, the 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 the work abstention programme, shutting down all academic activities, including classes and examinations, as well as administrative work.
Academic activities and administrative work was also seen at a halt at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, and at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University no academic activities were held, while some administrative work was seen ongoing on Monday.
