The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for 6,531 selected candidates from Dhaka and Chattogram divisions to join government primary schools as assistant teachers.
The apex court stayed a High Court verdict that cancelled a government decision to issue appointment letters to the candidates who qualified as assistant teachers for government primary schools.
The court also allowed the Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) to move an appeal before it challenging the HC judgment.
A three-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam passed the order following a leave to appeal petition filed by the DPE against the HC verdict.
Barrister Muntasir Uddin Ahmed, a counsel for the DPE, said, "The HC verdict has been stayed. The Appellate Division has granted leave to appeal petition. Now there is no legal bar to issuing appointment letters to 6,531 candidates."
Following a writ petition, the HC bench of Justice Fatema Najib and Justice Sikder Mahmudur Razi on February 6 this year cancelled the government decision to issue appointment letters to the candidates.
The High Court cancelled the decision as their recruitment process was completed under the 84 percent quota system which was scrapped by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in July last year.
The High Court also directed the authorities to start a fresh recruitment process in line with the apex court verdict which has ruled that 93 per cent jobs in civil service would be merit-based and the remaining 7 per cent would be from quota.
Later on February 13, the Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) and some selected candidates filed separate leave to appeal petitions against the High Court verdict. Upon hearing on the petitions, the apex court stayed the HC verdict on Monday.
Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman and lawyer Muntasir Uddin Ahmed appeared in the court hearing representing the DPE, while lawyers Salahuddin Dolon, Ruhul Quddus Kazal, Siddique Ullah Miah, Belayet Hossain and others appeared for the candidates.
Appointment letters were supposed to be given to the 6,531 teachers from November 20 last year, but the HC on November 19 stayed the decision to grant the letters following the same writ petition.
Recruitment circular was published on June 14 in 2023 following previous quota system. The recruitment process had been completed in three phases, and the final results were published on October 31, 2024.
A total of 154 unsuccessful candidates filed the writ petition in November last year challenging the recruitment process on the grounds of violating quota system in line with the apex court verdict.
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