AL to nationalise pry teachers' jobs if voted to power: Hasina
"Awami League is always committed to serve the nation. We can realise how important is the primary education" Inshallah, we will nationalise the job of the primary school teachers if people elect us in the next national election," Hasina said.
She was addressing a representative conference of Non-Government Primary School Teachers Association as chief guest at the Engineers Institute auditorium in the city.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Presided over by Golam Mohammed, the conference was also addressed by AL acting General Secretary Obaidul Qader, presidium member Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir and former MP Nurul Islam Nahid.
Hasina, also Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, said the schoolteachers have been deprived of even basic needs of life where the primary education is the main foundation of a country's education sector.
She blasted the government accusing it of conspiring to turn Bangladesh into a nation of illiterates.
"BNP, Jamaat are afraid of education and progressiveness. They don't want to see Bangladesh as an illiteracy-free country. That's why primary school teachers have to take to streets and tolerate police repression to realise their basic needs of life," she said.
Hasina said the teachers' community, after liberation, got several facilities, including nationalisation of jobs and raise of salary and allowances during the government of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibar Rahman and AL's last tenure.
"Bangabandhu, at first, nationalised thousands of non-government primary schools. Following his great example, our government had increased salaries of non-government primary teachers to Tk 2000 from Tk 525," Hasina said.
She criticised Prime Minister Khaleda Zia for increasing salaries of herself and her cabinet members saying as if the ministers are the poorest people and teachers, farmers and workers are the richest people.
She said her government had introduced different allowances for teachers, freedom fighters and elderly people.
The government had shut down 10,000 community schools while the last AL government had a plan to set up one school in each two-kilometer, Hasina said.
The former prime minister said that BNP-Jamaat government is planning to rig votes in the next election so that they can implement their blueprint to break the backbone of the nation.
"They are conspiring to take revenge for their defeat in the War of Liberation in 1971 and they know well if education sector could be paralysed, their dream would come true very easily," Hasina said.
Alleging that the alliance government has appointed party people to make voter lists for the next election, Hasina demanded new voter list with voters' photo.