Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader and Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel will meet with the protesting teachers on Thursday in response to their ongoing movement against the inclusion of public universities under the universal pension scheme, Pratyay.
Professor Nizamul Haque Bhuiyan, General Secretary of the Federation of Bangladesh University Teachers' Association and President of the Dhaka University Teachers' Association, said this on Wednesday (3 July).
Nizamul Haque said Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader initially scheduled the meeting for Wednesday evening but later rescheduled it for Thursday morning.
When asked if the teachers' programmes would continue despite the announcement, he said, "Our movement will continue in full force until our demands are met."
Meanwhile, for the third consecutive day on Thursday, all academic activities, including classes and examinations, have been suspended at Dhaka University and other public universities across the country.
The teachers have rejected the clarification provided by the Finance Ministry on Tuesday regarding certain aspects of the universal pension scheme, Pratyay, and stated that their ongoing movement will continue.
The Finance Ministry explained that the scheme started on July 1, and all employees joining autonomous, semi-autonomous, and state-owned institutions on or after July 1 will be mandatorily included in the Pratyay scheme. Employees who joined before July 1 will receive pensions under the old system. The National Pension Authority also provided a similar explanation.
In a statement, the National Pension Authority mentioned that teachers, officers, and employees who joined service before June 30 are not required to join the new scheme. However, the protesting teachers have three main demands: withdrawal of the Pratyay scheme notification, inclusion of university teachers in the super grade, and introduction of a separate pay scale for teachers.
