Police have dispersed protesting job aspirants when they attempted to march towards the Secretariat in the capital, demanding resumption of their recruitment process as primary school teachers.

Several hundred primary teacher aspirants from from Dhaka and Chattogram divisions gathered in front of the National Museum around 10 am on Sunday.

Witnesses said police obstructed the protesters near Shikkha Bhaban around 3 pm as they tried to advance towards the Secretariat.

Law enforcers used water cannons and teargas shells to disperse the protesters when they attempted to break a police barricade around 3:30pm.

Later, the protesters left the main road and gathered at other locations.

Protesters said that they will not leave the streets until their recruitment is confirmed.

HC cancels appointment process of 6, 531 primary teachers

Earlier, Ganosamhati Andolan’s Chief Coordinator Junaid Saki joined the rally and urged the protesters to maintain a peaceful approach.

He advised them to go to the High Court if necessary to meet their demands.

The High Court (HC) cancelled the process of appointing 6, 531 candidates as assistant teachers of government primary schools in Dhaka and Chattogram divisions on February 6.

The court also directed the authorities to start a fresh recruitment process based on merit.

On June 14 in 2023, the government issued a circular for recruiting assistant teacher for the primary schools in both divisions.

On October 31 last year, the government published the final results of the recruitment test declaring 6, 531 candidates as successful.

Later, 30 candidates submitted a petition with the HC challenging the legality of the recruitment following the abolition of the job quota system.

After the primary hearing on November 19, the court stayed the recruitment process for six months.