Bangladesh teachers continue strike

DHAKA (Reuter): A strike by nearly 200,000 teachers at non- government schools and colleges in Bangladesh entered its 11th day on Thursday, threatening to disrupt nation-wide examinations due to begin next week.

The striking teachers are demanding pay and benefits equal to that of their government school counterparts.

"There is no headway towards ending the strike," said a leader of the Non-Government Teachers' Liaison Committee, which is organizing the strike.

He alleged the government had not been sincere in "accepting our genuine demands so we can go back to work and supervise the exams."

Education ministry officials said the Liaison Committee leaders were "too adamant about their choices and cared little about the fate of the students."

Some 700,000 students are due to sit for the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) tests, beginning on May 2, ministry officials said.

"The government even doesn't recognize the liaison committee. This indicates they don't want to break the deadlock," committee spokesman Kazi Farouk told reporters on Thursday.

He said the stalemate could end if Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia intervened directly instead of relying on her Education Minister, Jamiruddin Sircer.

Farouk warned that the teachers would not only continue with their strike but would escalate the "movement" unless their demands were met.

The teachers, some of whom earn less than 2,000 taka ($50) a month, have asked for pay and benefits equal to that of teachers working at government schools. Tertiary-level teachers at government schools often earn three times as much as their private school counterparts.

The government said on Wednesday it was determined to go ahead with the examinations and would enlist the aid of primary school teachers and ministry officials in order to do so.

30