Govt pry school principals want status upgrade

The headmasters of government primary schools of Chittagong yesterday demanded that they be made class 2 gazetted officials from the existing class 3 employees.

The call came against the backdrop of the recent endorsement of the eighth national payscale for government staff and officials, where their status remains unchanged.

Kaiserul Alam, convener of the Chittagong district unit of the Association of Headmasters of Bangladesh Government Primary Schools, said they want to be upgraded into the 10th grade from the 12th grade in the payscale.

Addressing a news conference at Chittagong Press Club, he said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced on March 9, 2014 that their status would be upgraded to class-2 gazetted officials from class 3 employees. 

"But the salary structure of the headmasters has still not changed," he said.

The association demanded that the government meet their demands by September 30.

Otherwise, they will observe work stoppage from October 3 to October 5 and will not sit on their chairs from October 1 to October 10.

The headmasters also threatened to observe work stoppage during the Primary School Certificate (PSC) examinations scheduled for November.