
The leaders of the public university teachers' federation,
most of whom belong to the progressive forces led by the ruling Awami League,
threaten to go on strike if the government fails to redressing their grievances
over the proposed 8th National Pay Scale.
They also think that a section of bureaucrats is involved in
a conspiracy to deprive senior professors from getting remunerations equivalent
to the top bureaucrats to alienate the government from the people.
If the proposed pay scale, that humiliated public university
teachers by degrading them at least three rungs below the bureaucrats, is
passed, it will boomerang on the government, they predicted.
The AL-led progressive forces will lose the leadership of
public universities since every teacher, irrespective of political ideologies,
are vehemently opposing the proposed national pay scale as it is a matter of
honour, said Prof Farid Uddin Ahmed, Federation of Bangladesh University
Teachers' Association (FBUTA) and Dhaka University Teachers' Association (DUTA)
president.
Out of 37 public universities, teachers associations of 36
are run by the AL led progressive forces, he added.
They said that they have no clash with the bureaucrats as
their areas of work are different but demand a separate pay scale for public
university teachers.
In the proposed pay scale, senior professors are downgraded
from selection grade which means they are going to be deprived of salaries
equivalent to top bureaucrats.
According to a government notification, 25 per cent of the
professors in a university can be elevated to selection grade. But even if the
quota is not filled up, a professor can only be upgraded when he has completed
five-year experience.
Prof Farid Uddin Ahmed told the Daily Observer that if they
are not in the selection grade, the teachers will go five rungs below.
He said teachers are in the selection grade from 1973. So,
it becomes a right of the teachers which cannot be denied.
DUTA leader Prof Dr AJM Shafiul Alam Bhuiyan said,
"Degrading the public university teachers is definitely a part of the
ongoing conspiracy against the AL-led government.
A force lurking within the bureaucracy is
instrumental in the conspiracy as they are giving wrong advice to the
government to degrade teachers,"
A senior professor said, "If the government does not
yield to the demand of the university teachers, the movement may be dreadful
for the government. When an AL-sympathiser teacher raises his voice against the
government against humiliation it creates a negative sentiment among the people
as teachers are so respectable."
Moreover, 65,000 primary school headmasters are engaged in
protest against government decision as it did not recognise them as Class II
employees.
The private university students now have to pay 7 per cent
VAT in education costs. So, the students as well as authorities of universities
are engaged in protest against the government. So, a big part of education
sector is against the government decision as it affects them.
Prof AJM Shafiul, also the Chairman of Film and Television
Studies Department, said if the honour of university teachers is snatched,
meritorious students will be disinterested to join the profession.
Prof Farid Uddin Ahmed said, "We cannot bank on the
Finance Minister as he is out to curtail the right of the teachers."
From 1973, university senior professors have been being
granted salary equivalent to secretaries.
FBUTA Secretary General Prof Dr ASM Maksud Kamal, also the
DUTA Secretary General, said, "Public university teachers wanted to
observe nonstop work abstention but we convinced them not to do so considering
the students' future and the mourning month of August."
"Even, the authority concerned didn't hold any meeting
in this regard and now we come to know that our demands will not be met,"
he said.
"If the pay scale is passed without forming a
commission then we will hold a National Convention to take up programmes to
spearhead a tough movement to realise our demand," he added.
Prof Maksud said, "If the government doesn't meet our
demand, we will have no option but to observe nonstop work abstention in the
public universities like that of Sri Lanka, which was observed for four months
in 2012."
As part of the movement, FBUTA leaders are slated to hold a
joint meeting with all Vice-Chancellors of the public universities at
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University on September 5, Prof Maksud
said.
After the meeting, a joint press
conference will be held. We have a plan to observe a full day work abstention
on Sunday", he added.
He said, "We are observing many kinds of programmes
including forming human chains, work abstention, strike, handing of memorandum
and meeting with Education Ministry, UGC Chairman and the Finance
Minister."
Prof Farid said, "Finance Minister Muhit is making
all-out efforts to deprive teachers. So, we cannot bank on him anymore. He
always acts against the people which is evident as he gave clean chit to the
biggest scams-- BASIC Bank and Sonali Bank."
Expressing solidarity with the university teachers' demands,
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid earlier wrote to five secretaries, who
were in charge of revising the 8th Pay Scale report. But they did not reply to
the letter.
"They don't know how to show respect to a
Minister," Prof Maksud said.
Prof Maksud also said, "Secretaries are hatching a
conspiracy against the government. They are always working for the next
government. The bureaucrats' move to deprive teachers makes them (teachers)
more aggressive."
Jagannath University Associate Prof Razib Mir said that
every university teacher is concerned about the proposed national pay scale as
they feel humiliated.
"So, the Warrant
of Precedence has been broken. They have cancelled our selection grade
professor rank. We need separate pay scales to save our prestige and
honour," he said.
Prof Maksud Kamal earlier said in his written speech,
"If our demands are not met, we'll march to the Prime Minister's Office
(PMO) to submit the signatures of 13,900 public university teachers, which is
almost 97 per cent of the total number in the country, who have expressed
solidarity with our demand."
All public university teachers observed a three-hour work
abstention from 10:00am to 1:00pm last Sunday and they will again observe the
same programme next Sunday. No classes excepting the scheduled examinations were
held on the campuses during the programme.
Prof Maksud claimed that a division had already been created
among the state employees by keeping two super grades in the new pay scale
which is at the same time controversial and disgraceful.
Besides, Prof Maksud Kamal alleged that the 17-member Pay
Commission did not have any discussion with the teachers beforehand to prepare
the final draft of the document that has virtually made the entire process
recommended by committee secretary Dr Farash Uddin questionable.
He demanded immediate
revision of the pay scale keeping the senior professors and senior secretaries
of the government in the same bracket in terms of payment and status.RI