Decisions about teachers made without consulting them
We have been protesting the new universal pension scheme from the very beginning. The strike is a step we are being compelled to take. So far, no officials have spoken to us, nor have there been discussions on how we would proceed to have a dialogue. The teacher's demands thus far have been for a separate pay scale, the creation of an environment for students where necessary skills can be developed, exclusion of teachers from the Prottoy scheme and a separate pension system for them, and assurance that under no circumstances will teachers be deprived of the existing benefits.
The scheme is not "universal" as it does not encompass government officials. My question is, why should teachers be deprived of the existing benefits? We did not ask for this new scheme, so why is this being forced upon us? In the previous scheme, public university teachers would receive a lump sum amount of around Tk 80 lakh after retiring. What a teacher earns while working is spent trying to pay for basic necessities, and hence the amount left at the end of a teacher's career is not significant. Even this amount is not going to be available under the new Prottoy scheme.
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There is also a lack of clarity regarding the pension being given at 60, whereas the retirement age for a teacher is 65. This confusion extends to festival bonuses and other such benefits, all of which were mentioned in the previous scheme. Why would the teachers, especially those who are new, willingly agree to a new scheme that is less beneficial for them?
Decisions regarding teachers are being made without any consultation with teachers. All stakeholders must be engaged in a discussion if it has an impact on their lives. If you won't consider teachers of the primary, secondary and tertiary levels as worthy of engaging in a conversation, who will be spoken to regarding a decision that will significantly affect teachers? It displays a blatant disrespect toward teachers from the government.
The government is completely dependent on the bureaucrats who are not qualified to make decisions impacting teachers.Teachers have been speaking of a separate pay scale for so long, with the issue being raised even in 2015-2016, yet no action has been taken in that regard. Not only are they not thinking of teachers, but they are not thinking of students either. What is the government doing to help students gain the necessary skills for employment?
In the realm of politics, there has been a severe issue of nepotism, with relatives of MPs getting appointed to positions of authority in various educational institutions. But it's the qualified people who must be the ones in the position to make decisions.
If you can't take into consideration the fate of the students, then for whom is all this development? How can I allow someone younger joining my profession to be in a worse condition than me? It is completely unacceptable and inhumane. If you destroy the education system by putting teachers at a disadvantage, the intelligent will leave the teaching profession. This will spell trouble for the nation.
Constructing buildings alone is not development. There are lakhs of Benazirs today because the government is unable to control its corrupt officials. Teachers will never want to take actions that harm students. Over the past three months, we have been protesting while keeping students safe. We need to think about the nation and respect teachers. Teachers need to be paid the appropriate amount to have a decent life.
Nasir Ahmed is associate professor of English at Jagannath University.
Views expressed in this article are the author's own.
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