Primary school head teachers to receive 10th-grade pay scale: SC

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has ruled that government primary school head teachers, both trained and untrained, will receive the 10th-grade pay scale in accordance with their second-class status.  

A bench led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed delivered the verdict today (13 March), dismissing the state's review petition.  

Senior lawyer Barrister Salah Uddin Dolon, who represented the teachers in court, said the head teachers will receive benefits under this grade effective from 9 March 2014. 

Earlier, in 2018, Riaz Parvez, president of the Bangladesh Government Primary School Head Teachers' Association, along with 45 other head teachers, filed a writ petition with the High Court. 

According to a press release issued by Parvez at the time, citing his lawyer, the then-prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, had announced the upgrade of government primary school head teachers to second-class status on 9 March 2014. 

While the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education issued a gazette notification on the same day, it later set 11th-grade for trained head teachers and 12th-grade for untrained ones.  

Following the petition, the High Court issued a rule, which it later settled in a verdict on 25 February 2019.  

Commenting on the High Court ruling, Barrister Salah Uddin Dolon said, "Although the position of head teacher was designated as second-class, they were paid under the 11th and 12th grade pay scales, whereas other second-class employees received the 10th-grade scale."

"Despite being recognised in status, government primary school head teachers were deprived of their rightful pay. 

"After 45 teachers filed a writ petition, the court issued a rule and later delivered a verdict instructing that all government primary school head teachers [trained and untrained] be upgraded to the 10th-grade pay scale," he added.   

The government later appealed against this decision in the Appellate Division. However, today, the court upheld the High Court's ruling and dismissed the state's review petition.  

Following the verdict, Barrister Salah Uddin said, "Even those appointed as head teachers through the BCS exam were given the 12th grade. This was a grave injustice and a violation of Article 29 of the Constitution. 

"After a long legal battle, the teachers have finally received their rightful recognition. Now, all government primary school head teachers—both trained and untrained—will receive the 10th-grade pay scale and be officially upgraded to second-class status."  

When asked whether non-petitioners would also receive the upgraded status, he said, "There are 32,000 vacant positions, while 30,000 teachers are currently employed. Since the verdict from the Appellate Division is binding, I believe the government will extend the benefits to all, including those who were not part of the petition."

"We expect that everyone will receive these benefits from 9 March 2014. However, the teachers have provided an undertaking in the Appellate Division stating that they will not demand time scale or selection grade benefits until further directives are issued," he added.