The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for the appointment of headteachers in government primary schools by allowing a government appeal in a long-running dispute over seniority and promotion.
The Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, overturned a High Court verdict that had declared part of the Service Conditions Rules for Teachers of Nationalised Non-Government Primary Schools unlawful.
Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kajal said the judgment upheld the existing seniority system, under which teachers directly recruited to government primary schools rank above those absorbed following the nationalisation of non-government schools.
He said the legal dispute had stalled the appointment and transfer of permanent headteachers for years, leaving thousands of schools without regular heads.
"The legal complications have now been resolved. The government will be able to appoint headteachers, and administrative discipline in primary schools will be restored," the Attorney General said.
The dispute stemmed from a 2017 writ petition filed by teachers of nationalised primary schools challenging Rule 9(1) of the 2013 service rules. The High Court declared the provision unconstitutional in 2019, but the Appellate Division stayed the verdict in 2022 before finally allowing the government's appeal on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Education, Primary and Mass Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon said the process of promoting assistant teachers to headteachers would begin soon following the Supreme Court verdict.
"Promotions to 36,235 vacant headteacher posts in government primary schools across the country will begin soon," he told reporters at the Secretariat.
The minister said a proposal was being sent to the Public Service Commission (PSC) on Thursday to initiate the promotion process.
"The post of headteacher in government primary schools is a Grade-10 position. Therefore, the promotion proposal has to be sent to the PSC," he said.
According to officials of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, 80 per cent of headteacher posts are filled through the promotion of assistant teachers, while the remaining 20 per cent are filled through direct recruitment.
