BANGLADESH NEWS
Being the son of a teacher, it is quite impossible for me to turn a blind eye to the humiliation that primary schoolteachers had to go through last week. Teaching is a noble profession and primary schoolteachers lay the foundation of our education. Primary schoolteachers are highly paid in other countries. But sadly, in our
country teachers are not given enough salary to live a decent life. Our government had given assurance to the registered non-govt. primary school teachers to regularise their jobs before the last election. But after coming to power, they forgot the matter.
These poor and helpless primary schoolteachers, finding no other alternative, came to Dhaka to remind the government of their demands. They were going to the prime minister's office to submit a memorandum to
press home their demands, leading a peaceful procession. They were neither aggressive nor vandalising any vehicles. Nevertheless, they have been attacked and lathi-charged by the police as if the procession was
brought out by the opposition party. Not only that, they used hot water to disperse the procession. More than ten teachers were injured and one died eventually. We protest this brutality in the strongest terms.
Our prime minister and education minister could have sat with them for finding a solution at the very outset. But they did not do this. Why? Was it because they are poor, helpless and half-fed teachers? But have they (our ministers) forgotten that these ill-fated teachers taught them in their early life?
