Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Dr Shafiqur Rahman has called on the authorities to stop what he described as political interference in the recruitment of primary school teachers and ensure that candidates are selected on the basis of merit and qualifications.

“Government jobs are not a matter of political allegiance. As citizens, the merit and qualifications of job seekers should be the only considerations,” he said in a post on his official Facebook page on Saturday.

His remarks came after a group of primary assistant teacher candidates said they were dropped from the final list during verification.

In a statement issued Friday, the candidates demanded a fresh review of those excluded and an opportunity to defend their candidacies. They said many qualified applicants were dropped without clear reasons and, citing media reports, claimed appointment letters for around 1,200 candidates had not been issued.

They also called for the authorities to recheck the documents of the excluded candidates and issue the pending appointment letters by September 28.