Bangladesh University Teachers' Association Federation leaders today announced a series of protests demanding the cancellation of a government pension scheme that they said will be discriminatory to future teachers.

They presented their demands in a written statement at a press conference at Dhaka University this morning.

The finance ministry, in a notification on March 13, announced that all officers and employees, joining the service of autonomous, self-governing, nationalised, statutory, or similar organisations and their subordinate institutions on or after July 1, 2024, would be included in the universal pension scheme.

In a statement, Prof Nizamul Haque Bhuiyan, the federation's secretary general, termed the scheme discriminatory towards future teachers.

He said public university teachers will form a human chain at 11:30am on May 26 if no action is taken by May 25. They plan to be absent from work from 10:00am-12:00pm on May 28 and for a half day on June 4.

Examinations, however, will not be disrupted by the movements, assured Prof Nizamul.

The pension scheme creates a division among teachers as the ones who will be joining after July 1 this year will receive lesser benefits than the ones who have joined before the date, said Prof Akhtarul Islam, the federation president.

"This will potentially harm the quality of education. In place of the pension scheme, a super grade should be introduced for university teachers," he said.

The federation's joint secretary general Abdur Rahim, its other members, and representatives from various public university teachers' associations attended the event.