Police crackdown on asst teacher protesters
Staff Reporter :
Police charged batons and used water cannons on protesting assistant teacher candidates on Wednesday after the High Court canceled the recruitment process for 6,531 government primary school teachers in Dhaka and Chattogram divisions.
The incident took place near the chief adviser’s official residence, State Guest House Jamuna, around 3:30 PM, as law enforcement attempted to disperse demonstrators demanding reinstatement of their appointments.
According to protesters, police first charged batons and deployed water cannons in the morning. Later in the afternoon, officers resumed baton charges while bringing in water cannons again, although they were not used this time.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ramna Division Deputy Commissioner Masud Alam declined to comment on the police action.
The protests erupted following a High Court bench ruling on Tuesday, comprising Justice Fatema Najib and Justice Shikdar Mahmudur Raji, which declared the recruitment process invalid. The court directed the authorities to initiate a fresh hiring process based strictly on merit.
The recruitment had been conducted in three phases, with the final results published on October 31, 2024. However, 30 unsuccessful candidates filed a petition challenging the process, alleging that the quota system was applied despite a government order abolishing quotas on July 23, 2023.
The High Court had previously suspended the recruitment process on November 19, 2024, following a primary hearing, effectively halting the appointments. The Supreme Court later upheld the suspension and set a deadline of January 25 for settling the matter.
Despite this, the recruitment process followed the Primary School Teacher Recruitment Rules, 2019, which mandated a 60% quota for women, 20% for dependents, and 4% for other categories. The HC, however, ruled that the process violated the July 2023 government order.
Following the verdict, hundreds of affected candidates staged a protest in front of the High Court premises on Tuesday.
A Supreme Court lawyer urged them to remain calm and not demonstrate inside the premises. Later, as police arrived, the protesters left the court area but continued demonstrations near State Guest House Jamuna, where clashes erupted on Wednesday.
The protesting candidates have vowed to continue their movement until their appointments are reinstated or a fair resolution is reached.