The High Court yesterday directed the government to appoint around 10,000 people, who were selected in 2012 for posts of assistant teachers at registered non-government primary schools, in 60 days.

The HC bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo passed the order while delivering a judgment on 367 writ petitions.

Around 10,000 candidates filed the writ petitions at different times with the HC saying that the government has not appointed them in around three years, although they were qualified and were selected through relevant exams and tests.

Around 42,200 candidates qualified in the examinations and tests, but the government appointed only 10,341 and the rest were deprived, the petitioners alleged.

According to a circular of the primary and mass education ministry in April 2010, recruitments were supposed to be made from upazila-based panels of selected candidates, Mohammad Abul Hasnat, a lawyer for 307 petitioners, told The Daily Star.

But as per the primary and mass education board's decision on 2012, around 10,341 candidates were appointed from union-based panels of selected candidates at different times. As a result, the writ petitioners were dropped from recruitment lists, he added.

Deputy Attorney General Amatul Karim Swapna told this correspondent that the candidates, who were in the panel published on April 9, 2012, will be appointed on merit as per the HC directive.

The SC on May 7 upheld a HC verdict which on June 18 last year declared illegal a government decision to recruit primary school teachers from union-based panels of selected candidates.