NN Online:
The authorities in charge of primary education have launched an initiative to adjust the pay scale of government primary school teachers, aiming to raise their salaries.
Under the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education’s plan, head teachers currently in Grade 11 would be upgraded to Grade 10, while teachers in Grade 13 would move up to Grade 12.
The move has been welcomed by head teachers, who have long demanded placement in the 10th grade pay scale retroactive to 2014. However, assistant teachers expressed dissatisfaction, demanding they be placed in the 11th grade instead of the proposed 12th.
Speaking to bdnews24.com on Monday, Rebeka Sultana, joint secretary of the ministry’s School Wing, said the Directorate of Primary Education has been instructed to submit a proposal to raise the head teachers’ salaries to Grade 10 and assistant teachers to Grade 12. This follows recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Primary and Non-Formal Education Reforms, as well as a court directive.
“Once the proposal is received, it will be forwarded to the Ministry of Public Administration for review. With their consent, it will then go to the Ministry of Finance for final approval,” Sultana said.
The ministry sent a formal letter to the Directorate of Primary Education on Thursday to initiate the process.
The advisory committee was formed in October last year after the interim government assumed office. Emeritus Professor Manzoor Ahmed of BRAC University served as the convener of the committee, which submitted its recommendations on February 10.
Among its key recommendations were the abolition of the assistant teacher position and the elimination of the Grade 12 pay scale for entry-level teachers. The committee also proposed that head teachers should be paid at the Grade 10 level and that head teacher appointments should be made through promotion.
