The High Court has issued a rule asking why the 60 per cent quota for women and 20 per cent quota for children and staff members of primary teachers (pet quota) in recruitment of government primary school teachers should not be cancelled.
In a ruling issued on Thursday (December 29), the High Court raised the question about the selection of 37,574 candidates as assistant teachers of government primary schools across the country. Sixty per cent female quota, 20 per cent pet quota, and 20 per cent male quota were applied in the recruitment.
The selected persons are scheduled to join jobs within a month.
The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Biswajit Debnath in the ruling wanted to know why the appointment of 37,574 assistant teachers in government primary schools on the basis of quota system should not be illegal and why the quota system should not be cancelled.
The HC bench also issued rule to know why the writ petitioners should not be appointed on the basis of merit.
Advocate Shamim Sardar took part in the hearing on behalf of the writ petitioners while Deputy Attorney General Tushar Kanti Roy represented the state.
Secretary of the Public Administration Ministry, Secretary of the Education Ministry, Secretary of the Primary and Mass Education Ministry, Secretary of the Home Ministry, and Director General of the Directorate of Primary Education were asked to respond to the rule within four weeks.
The result of the government primary school assistant teacher recruitment test, 2022 were published on December 14.
Many demanded cancellation of the ‘discriminatory’ quota in recruiting primary assistant teachers. They said that 60 per cent female quota and 20 per cent family quota were implemented disregarding the right to equal employment rights in the Constitution.
They also allege that depriving the disabled and unprivileged classes, the quota has been given to the privileged classes.
Advocate Shamim Sardar said that this recruitment with 60 per cent female quota and 20 per cent pet quota is contradictory to Article 29 (3) of the Constitution. Hundreds of educated unemployed youths are roaming around in the country and only 20 per cent male quota is inadequate for them.
The lawyer said that in the rule, the High Court wanted to know why the recruitment won’t be cancelled according to the 8(2)(c) and (d) of the Primary School Teacher Recruitment Rules, 2019.
A total of 152 people, including Sanjit Sarkar of Kalabari of Kotalipara upazila in Gopalganj, Anwar Hossain of Notunbazar area of Chatmohar upazila in Pabna and Hafizur Molla of Panighata of Mohammadpur upazila in Magura filed the writ petition.
In the writ petition, the validity of recruitment on the basis of quota and not on merit is challenged.