Cancellation of asst teachers' appointments: Govt seeks stay on HC order
The application is likely to be heard in the Chamber Court next Sunday
The Directorate of Primary Education has sought a stay on the High Court's verdict cancelling the appointment of 6,531 assistant teachers.
It made the appeal to the Appellate Division today (13 February), confirmed Deputy Attorney General Md Asad Uddin.
The teachers had been appointed to government primary schools after they had passed the third stage of recruitment in the Dhaka and Chattogram divisions.
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The cancellation came due to concerns over the application of a quota system in the recruitment process.
Meanwhile, the application is likely to be heard in the Chamber Court next Sunday, Asad said.
The development comes amid continuous protests by the assistant teacher candidates following the 6 February HC verdict.
An HC bench comprising Fatema Najib and Justice Shikdar Mahmudur Raji delivered the verdict
The court had also directed the authorities to start a fresh recruitment process based on merit.
The recruitment process had been completed in three phases, and the final results were published on 31 October 2024.
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.
