At Least 125 Injured as Police Clash With Agitating Primary School Teachers in Dhaka

At least 125 government primary school teachers, who were protesting to press for three demands including upgrading their salary to the 10th grade, received treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital after being injured in an alleged police attack.

Among them, several are still under treatment in hospital beds, said teacher leader Mohib Ullah on Saturday night.

He said, “More than a hundred teachers have been injured, several of them are in critical condition. We are preparing a list of the injured.”

Teachers began their continuous sit-in at the Central Shaheed Minar on Saturday morning to press home their three-point demand. Around 3:30 p.m., they started marching towards Shahbagh to observe a “pen-down protest.” Around 4:00 p.m., police stopped them in front of Shahbagh Police Station.

At that time, the teachers’ programme was foiled as police fired sound grenades, used water cannons, batons, and tear gas.

Teacher leaders claimed that many teachers were injured and several were arrested during the incident.

Inspector Md Faruk, in-charge of the police outpost at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, said around 7:45 p.m. that “at least 125 injured people received treatment at the hospital’s emergency department. Some of them have been admitted. The matter is being verified.”

Later, returning to the Central Shaheed Minar, Md Abul Kashem, president of Bangladesh Primary Teachers’ Association (Kashem–Shahin), announced a new programme of an indefinite work abstention across all government primary schools starting Sunday in protest against the “police attack.”

He also said that their previous continuous sit-in in Dhaka would continue until their demands are met.

Kashem called on all primary teachers across the country to join the Dhaka protest, saying, “Our work abstention will continue from tomorrow (Sunday) in all primary schools across the country until our demands are met and those who were arrested are released.

“We urge all head teachers and assistant teachers across the country to express solidarity with their fellow teachers and participate in the work abstention.”

In addition to the demand for 10th-grade salary, the teachers’ other two demands are the resolution of complexities over getting higher grades after 10 and 16 years of service, and ensuring 100% departmental promotion.

Although the teachers claimed that some of them were arrested, police denied detaining anyone.

DMP Deputy Commissioner (Media and Public Relations) Muhammad Talebur Rahman said in a statement at 5:00 p.m., “Some protesters gathered in front of Shahbagh Police Station under the banner of ‘pen submission.’ Around 4:00 p.m., a group of protesters broke through police barricades and tried to move towards the state guesthouse Jamuna. When police intervened, the protesters threw bricks and stones at the police.

“As a result, several police personnel were injured. To disperse the agitators who disobeyed police instructions, police fired several rounds of sound grenades and used water cannons.”

The statement said, “Although all kinds of rallies, gatherings, and processions were prohibited in and around the official residence of the Chief Adviser, Jamuna, the agitators tried to move forward defying the restriction.

“To bring the situation under control and to ensure the security of important state establishments, police dispersed the protesters.”

In the DMP DC’s statement, the public was again requested to comply with the restrictions imposed by Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) in the interest of maintaining public safety and law and order.

The teachers have been demonstrating under the banner of Primary Teachers’ Demand Implementation Council, an alliance of four teachers’ organisations — Bangladesh Primary Teachers’ Association (Kashem–Shahin), Primary Teachers’ 10th Grade Implementation Council, Bangladesh Primary School Assistant Teachers’ Association, and Bangladesh Primary Teachers’ Association (Shahin–Lipi).

There are 65,567 government primary schools in Bangladesh. According to the Directorate of Primary Education, about 384,000 teachers are currently employed in these schools.

On April 24, the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education took an initiative to upgrade the salary of head teachers from grade 11 to grade 10 and assistant teachers from grade 13 to grade 12. However, assistant teachers expressed dissatisfaction with the initiative.

Subsequently, the Primary Teachers’ Demand Implementation Council announced a sit-in from Saturday to press for their three demands, including 10th-grade pay.

Meanwhile, another group of assistant teachers, under the banner of the Primary Assistant Teachers’ Organisation Unity Council, has given the government a deadline until November 15 to meet their demands for 11th-grade pay, resolving the complexities over higher grades, and ensuring 100% promotion.

They announced that if their demands are not met within the stipulated time, they will observe a half-day work abstention on November 23–24, a full-day work abstention on November 25–26, and a sit-in in front of the Directorate of Primary Education on November 27.

If no visible progress or announcement is made by then, they will boycott exams and begin a hunger strike unto death from December 11.