Staff Correspondent:

Demanding reinstatement of their cancelled recruitment to the post of assistant teacher in government primary schools, protestors are holding a mass rally in front of the National Museum at Shahbagh of Dhaka.

More than hundred protesters gathered on the street in front of the National Museum and started the mass rally on Sunday.

They said this marks the eleventh consecutive day of their sit-in demonstration. They will not leave the streets until their recruitment is confirmed.

The protestors said that the police have used force against their logical demonstration on three occasions. Lastly, the police used water cannons and batons on them on Thursday.

Earlier on 9 February, the police had dispersed the protesters using water cannons, sound grenades and tear-gas. On that day the police also charged batons on the protestors.

One of the protesters named Nazmun Nahar told that the candidates recommended in the third phase to the post of assistant teacher in government primary school have faced ultimate injustice.

Candidates recommended in the first and second phase are now doing their jobs while recruitment of the candidates recommended following the same process in the third phase has been cancelled.

Two different policies for a single recruitment will not be accepted. They will not leave the street until their demands are met, she added.

Protesters said that they carry on sit-in proramme at Shahbagh intersection during the day and spend the night in front of the National Press Club. This is how they are carrying out their protest for the past 11 consecutive days.

The recruitment circular for assistant teachers in primary schools was issued in three phases. While the final recruitment process for the first and second phases has been completed, there have arisen uncertainties regarding recruitment of the third phase.

The third-phase recruitment circular was published on 14 June 2023. The written examination was conducted on 29 March 2024, with the results announced on 21 April of the same year. The viva voce was completed on 12 June.

Following approval from the law ministry and the public administration ministry, the final results were published on 31 October, in which 6,531 candidates were recommended for appointment.

When 31 individuals who were not recommended filed a writ petition in the High Court, the recruitment process of the 6,531 recommended candidates was suspended for six months. On 6 February, the High Court ruled to cancel the recruitment process for these 6,531 candidates.

Earlier, those denied appointment as assistant teachers staged a protest in front of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education in the capital on Wednesday. Later on Thursday, they blocked Shahbagh intersection as part of the protest. Police used water cannons to disperse them from Shahbagh.