Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s Secretary General and former MP Mia Golam Porwar issued a statement today, 9 November, condemning the police attack, the use of sound grenades, and water cannons on government primary school teachers who are protesting with three demands—including placement in the 10th grade with salary.

In the statement he said, “It is the government’s responsibility to sympathetically consider and rationally accept the three-point demand of government primary school teachers, and thereby bring an end to the ongoing movement. The incident of attacking the protesting teachers, throwing sound grenades, and using water cannons has left more than a hundred teachers injured—this is unexpected and extremely painful. A more tolerant attitude toward teachers, who are the architects of building the nation, is desirable.

In the statement he further said, meanwhile, the teachers have announced an indefinite work stoppage, which has caused deep concern among students, parents, and the entire nation. Annual examinations are about to commence very soon. If the education system becomes paralyzed at this time, the ones who will be most affected are the tender-hearted students. Loss in education is an irreparable loss for any nation—this is a matter the respected teacher community should also take into consideration.

Making an appeal to the government, Mia Golam Porwar said, let the government step back from its rigid stance and resolve the issue through discussion by sympathetically considering the teachers’ three-point rational demand. I strongly urge the government to take initiative to end the teachers’ movement quickly and bring them back to their classrooms.”