No legal bar to appointing head teachers in 32,000 govt primary schools

The Appellate Division has cleared the way for appointing head teachers in nearly 32,000 government primary schools across the country, ending a long-standing legal dispute. The verdict was delivered on Thursday by a bench headed by the Chief Justice.

Attorney General Barrister Md. Ruhul Quddus Kazal represented the state in the hearing.

After the judgment, Attorney General Ruhul Quddus Kazal said, The government in 2013 took over 26,000 non-government primary schools. At that time, a law was enacted stating that all teachers of those schools would be absorbed into government service. Under that law, they would join as assistant teachers, including those who had previously served as head teachers. This meant that even if someone had been a head teacher before, they were appointed as assistant teachers under the law, and they accepted it.

He added, The law also included a provision that those who would be directly recruited would be placed higher in the seniority list, while those coming from nationalized schools would be placed lower. Their previous service period would be counted at 50 percent for pension and gratuity purposes.

He further said, They objected to this. They argued that they had previously served as head teachers and should now also be appointed as head teachers. They also questioned why only 50 percent of their previous service would be counted. They filed writ petitions in the High Court, which eventually struck down the law and ruled in their favor. The government then appealed against that decision. Today, the Appellate Division has overturned the High Court’s verdict. As a result, the government can now appoint head teachers in around 32,000 primary schools.

Explaining the increase in the number of vacancies from 26,000 to 32,000, he said, Many government primary school teachers have retired over time, and those positions were not filled. So from 26,000 in 2013, the number has increased to around 32,000 today.