No bar to recruiting head teachers in 32,000 govt primary schools

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday settled a long-running dispute over post-nationalisation seniority in government primary schools, clearing the legal hurdle to appointing head teachers in about 32,000 institutions.

The four-member bench, led by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, delivered the verdict on Thursday (July 2).

Speaking to reporters after the ruling, Attorney General Ruhul Quddus Kazal said the legal complications surrounding the issue had now been resolved.

"Today's verdict will have a positive impact on educational activities in primary schools across the country. It will help restore discipline in teachers' duties and classroom instruction," he said.

The case centred on a dispute over seniority and promotion between directly recruited teachers and those whose schools were later nationalised.

According to the case details, a 2013 regulation stipulated that teachers from newly nationalised schools would be placed below the most recently recruited direct appointee in the seniority list.

The High Court declared the provision illegal following a writ petition filed by 383 teachers. As a result, the appointment of head teachers in around 32,500 government primary schools remained stalled.

The state subsequently appealed the High Court order, and the Appellate Division on Thursday allowed the appeal, overturning the earlier verdict. As a result, the 2013 regulation remains in force.

Under the ruling, teachers absorbed after nationalisation will continue to rank below the last directly recruited teacher in the seniority list.

Explaining the case, the attorney general said: "The main issue was that many teachers in the acquired schools had served for a long time, and some had worked as head teachers. When these schools were brought under government control and nationalised under the law, questions arose over their placement in the seniority list and who would rank ahead of them.”

"Primary school teachers are recruited directly. Therefore, to coordinate between directly recruited teachers and those coming from acquired private schools, it was stipulated that the latter would be placed after the directly recruited teachers."

He said the teachers later challenged the provision, and the High Court ruled that it lacked legal validity.

"We appealed that judgment to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, and today the court delivered its final verdict on the matter," he added.

Earlier, Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon said the government had initiated the process to appoint 32,500 head teachers to address the shortage in primary schools. However, the recruitment remained stalled because of the court order, and efforts were underway to resolve the legal impasse.