Police charge baton, use tear gas, water cannon to disperse protesting teacher candidates
Police barred the protesters as they marched towards the Secretariat. Later, police used tear gas and removed them from the road
Police have charged batons and used tear gas and water cannons on assistant teacher candidates for government primary schools who were marching towards the Secretariat protesting against a High Court verdict that cancelled their appointments.
Police barred the protesters as they marched towards the Secretariat around 3pm today (16 February). The protesters remain at the barricade, where authorities continue efforts to disperse them using water cannon.
Later, police charged batons and used tear gas to remove the protesters from the road in front of Shiksha Bhaban near the Secretariat around 4pm.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Earlier in the day, the protesters staged a rally at Dhaka's Shahbagh, demanding reinstatement of their recruitment order.
The rally in front of the National Museum started at around 9:30am today (16 February), however, they did not block the road or the Shahbagh intersection.
Now in its 11th consecutive day, the protest continues as demonstrators call on the government to intervene and overturn the High Court order that nullified their recruitment.
On 6 February, the High Court cancelled the process of appointing 6,531 assistant teachers for government primary schools in Dhaka and Chattogram divisions.
Earlier, the protesters demanded the recruitment of 6,531 assistant teachers in the third phase of the hiring process for government primary schools in the Dhaka and Chattogram divisions.
According to the demonstrators, the recruitment notice for assistant teachers was issued in three phases. While the final recruitment process for the first and second phases has been completed, the third phase has faced delays and complications.
The court's decision came after a petition was filed by 30 unsuccessful candidates who challenged the recruitment process on the grounds of quota system violations.
The petitioners argued that the quota system implemented in the recruitment process was contrary to the government's subsequent order to abolish all previous quotas.
After the primary hearing on 19 November 2024, HC suspended the recruitment process for six months, effectively halting the appointment of 6,531 successful candidates.
Moreover, the court issued a rule asking as to why the recruitment process should not be declared illegal.
Challenging the order, the Directorate of Primary Education submitted a leave-to-appeal with the Appellate Division.
The Supreme Court upheld the HC order and ordered the settlement of the petition by 25 January.
The HC observed that the recruitment process had been conducted in violation of a government order issued on 23 July 2023, which abolished all previous quotas.
However, the recruitment process for primary school teachers followed the quota system as per the Primary School Teacher Recruitment Rules, 2019, which included a 60% quota for women, 20% for dependents, and 4% for other categories.
