Primary directorate going by disputed seniority list

Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) is in the process of promoting a portion of Assistant Teachers of the primary schools to the posts of Head Master following a disputed seniority list prepared allegedly violating the rules and direction issued by the Ministry.
Although the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education asked to consider seniority of teachers based on their joining date, the Directorate made the list considering their age.
Teachers concerned have already placed their objections to the seniority list, however, the authorities have unheeded it.
The promotion process was in the final stage, said DPE sources adding that it was stopped due to a litigation filed by some aggrieved teachers.
The seniority list was prepared using software installed in 2021. The authorities would recommend promotion of the required number of teachers following the software-generated seniority list.
A total of 0.36 million teachers were included in the list till 2022, according to the website of the Directorate of Primary Education.
A group of Assistant Teachers aspiring for the promotion alleged that the Directorate was considering seniority based on date of birth rather than joining date in selecting teachers for promotion.
Two assistant teachers who joined in 2003 under a circular said that the teachers who joined in 2004 following appointment from the waiting list under the same circular were placed in top positions on the seniority list.
However, the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, on January 21 in 2024, asked the Directorate to follow a circular of the Ministry of Public Administration issued on April 17 in 2023 that outlined how to consider seniority of the teachers who were recruited from the waiting list after the teachers recruited from the merit list under the same circular.
Later on January 28 this year the Directorate also issued a notification for taking necessary steps regarding the issue following the circular of the Public Administration Ministry.
However, defying all these notifications the Directorate is in a move to give promotion to the teachers considering the seniority on basis of date of birth rather than joining date.
Monish Chakma, Director (Policy and Operation) of the DPE, told the FE that they prepared the seniority list according to the 'Non Cadre Officers and Employees (Seniority and Promotion) Rules, 2011' where it is stated that if there is no merit list, seniority will be determined on the basis of age or on the basis of educational qualifications.
However, a notification issued on December 19 last year by Director General of the DPE Shah Rezwan Hayat suggested that the Directorate prepared merit lists during the recruitment of the Assistant Teachers under same circular in different times.
Despite such opinion, the seniority list of the Directorate showed that those who joined the service from the waiting list had their names in the higher positions compared to the teachers who joined the service from merit list.

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