Twenty-two candidates for primary school assistant teacher posts in Mymensingh have begun a hunger strike to the death in front of the district primary education office, saying they have not received their appointment letters. They say they will continue until they have their final appointment letters in hand.
The protesters began the hunger strike inside the district primary education office at around 11am on Wednesday.
According to the protesters, 259 candidates in Mymensingh district were finally recommended for assistant teacher posts at government primary schools. Of them, 219 were given appointment letters in the first phase and two more later, but 22 candidates from the same process have still not received theirs. They say appointments in other districts have been completed while theirs are on hold, with no clear explanation from the office.
“We 259 were recommended in Mymensingh district. Of us, 219 were appointed in the first phase and two more later, but we 22 have been left out for no reason. We want our appointment letters today. None of us will leave here without them. If need be we will starve to death, and we will carry on with shrouds in hand,” said recommended candidate Mosharraf Hossain.
“Others have been appointed and joined schools, but we are being held back, and we are not even told why. We will not leave the hunger strike and go home until we get our appointment letters,” said another hunger striker, Hasi Akter.
According to the district primary education office, of the 259 finally recommended candidates, 18 submitted no documents. Of the remaining 241, 219 have been appointed and 22 appointments are on hold.
“The appointments of those 22 have been suspended on the instructions of higher authorities in light of intelligence reports,” said Mymensingh district primary education officer Shafiqul Islam. “We have no authority to decide this at local, district or divisional level. It is a matter for the primary and mass education ministry. If new instructions come from the ministry, action will be taken accordingly; otherwise the current decision stands.”
“We are trying to explain the matter to the hunger strikers. We cannot act beyond our authority. The secretary, the director general and the minister are aware of the matter at national level,” he said. Asked about the intelligence reports, he said: “An intelligence report is a highly confidential document. We have no way of knowing or disclosing exactly what it says. The higher authorities are aware; we are only carrying out instructions.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report