Public universities slip into turmoil
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FBUTA Secretary General Nizamul Hoque said that they would request the prime minister to listen to their demands.
“The finance ministry has issued the circular [on the new pension scheme] and they might not amend it. So, we are requesting the prime minister to meet our demands,” he told The Daily Star.
Prof Zeenat Huda, general secretary of Dhaka University Teachers Association, said, “Why such a discriminatory pension scheme was imposed on the teachers suddenly? The teachers will never accept this.”
Staffers of the 35 universities under the banner of Inter University Officers Federation also continued work abstention yesterday demanding reinstatement of the previous pension system. This led to a halt in all administrative activities at those higher educational institutions.
Teachers have been demonstrating since May 26 protesting the government decision to include all officers and employees, joining the service of autonomous, self-governing, nationalised, statutory, or similar organisations and their subordinate institutions on or after July 1, 2024, under the Prottoy scheme.
University teachers said that under the current system, no money is deducted from their basic salary for pensions, whereas the new scheme mandates a 10 percent deduction from the basic salary or Tk 5,000.
Teachers currently receive a one-time gratuity after going into retirement, but there is no mention of this facility in the new scheme. These two changes will eventually reduce the financial benefits of the university teachers who would join service on or after July 1, 2024.
Terming the new pension scheme discriminatory, teachers said that many people will not take up teaching at universities if the new scheme is implemented.
They also demanded a separate pay scale for university teachers and inclusion of professors in the pay grade equivalent to that of a senior secretary.
DEMO AT DU
All classrooms and libraries were closed at Dhaka University yesterday. Skipping classes and exams, teachers held a sit-in in front of the arts faculty building for about an hour.
Speaking at the sit-in, DUTA leaders said the teachers of 35 public universities have rejected the Prottoy scheme. They alleged that some vested quarters were spreading propaganda over the teacher’s movement.
Addressing the demonstration, Nizamul rejected the explanation of the pension authority.
“We have logic behind our demands and the government will have to pay heed to it. We will accept our inclusion in the Sebok scheme [to be launched next year for government employees] if it is made universal [for teachers and government employees],” he said.
The National Pension Authority issued a statement yesterday and said that the government will amend the retirement age-related provision of the Prottoy scheme.
Boycotting administrative activities, staffers under the banner of Dhaka University Karmakarta Karmachari Oikya Parishad took out processions on the campus yesterday. They also staged sit-ins in front of the administrative building and the central library.
In Barishal, at least 10 people were injured after two officers’ organisations of Barishal University brawled over taking part in a human chain protesting the introduction of the Prottoy pension scheme.
Witnesses said officers under the banners of Direct Officers Association and Barishal University Officers Association exchanged heated words over standing in the human chain. At one stage, they scuffled and threw plastic chairs at each other.
No classes and exams were held at the DU, BUET, Rajshahi, Jahangirnagar, Chittagong, Jagannath and other universities. The university authorities either kept the transport service suspended or significantly reduced trips to and from campuses.