Univ teachers still seeking equality with secretaries

In continuation of their protest, public university teachers held a press conference at Dhaka University Club yesterday, renewing their four-point demand asking the government to even out salaries, benefits, and the status between professors and secretary-level officials.

The Federation of Bangladesh University Teachers' Association (FBUTA) demands that the government revises the proposed 8th payscale, which puts senior-most professors below secretaries in terms of status, salary and benefits, and puts it into effect until a separate payscale for university teachers is created.

According to the proposed structure, a senior secretary would get Tk 84,000 in monthly salary, while a professor on the selection grade, the maximum benefit for a professor, would draw Tk 75,000, Prof Khandakar Shariful Islam of Bangladesh Agriculture University told The Daily Star.

FBUTA calls it discriminatory and demands that professors should be given cars and other allowances like secretary-level officials.

After the press conference, a team of FBUTA met with the chairman of the University Grants Commission, Abdul Mannan, and handed a memorandum over to him.

FBUTA Secretary General Dr Maksud Kamal said, "We proposed a separate pay structure like Sri Lanka's because its purchasing power parity is almost similar to Bangladesh's and they have also five grades like ours for university teachers."

Reading out a written statement at the conference, Maksud Kamal said Bangladeshi teachers got lower salaries compared to their counterparts in neighbouring countries like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

FBUTA announced holding an emergency meeting within seven days and form human chains on June 28 at every public university to get their demands fulfilled.

Earlier, the teachers observed work stoppage, organised meetings and human chains, and submitted a memorandum to the education ministry conveying their demands.