Silent march and sit-in mark ninth day of JU teachers’ protest

Teachers of Jahangirnagar University (JU) continued their large-scale strike for the ninth consecutive day, demanding scrapping of the ‘Prottoy Scheme’ of the universal pension scheme, inclusion in the promised super grade and establishment of a separate pay scale for teachers.

Students boycotted classes, exams and academic assignments, staged a sit-in at the Faculty of Social Sciences and held a silent march at 11 a.m. About a hundred teachers participated in this program.

During the sit-in, teachers vowed to continue boycotting classes until their demands are met. They called on the government to intervene and hold dialogue to resolve the situation.

JUTA Chairman Prof Motaher Hossain said earlier: “We are in a movement and the government must intervene to resolve this issue. If we are invited for discussions, we will participate. This programme will continue until our demand is met.”

Civil servants and employees joined the strike on Sunday, also demanding an exemption from the “Prottoy program.” They staged a sit-in in front of the new administration building on Tuesday morning, announcing an indefinite boycott of all academic, official and administrative work until their demands are met, which will result in the cessation of all university activities.

Officers Association president Abdur Rahman Babul, who is also the university’s deputy secretary, said earlier: “Our demand is clear: exemption from the new pension scheme for all teachers, officers and employees of the university. After giving a three-day ultimatum, we have launched an indefinite strike. None of us will do any official or administrative work until our demand is met.”

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