The assistant teachers of government primary schools, who had brought out second phase of protest on Monday, have called off the strike in the evening after authorities concerned reassured to meet their demands again.

Following a high-level meeting between council leaders and senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Primary and Mass Education at the secretariat in the same evening, Primary Teachers’ Demand Implementation Council has announced the withdrawal.

Confirming the development, convener of the council Khairun Nahar Lipi said, “We initially demanded immediate implementation of 10th grade, but the Finance Ministry has assured us of placing assistant teachers in 11th grade.”

Addressing reporters after the meeting, she added,“Trusting this commitment, we are calling off all our protests scheduled for tomorrow.”

“This is not a political movement,” emphasized Lipi, who attended the meeting in a wheelchair after sustaining injuries during a police intervention in an earlier protest. “We came to Shaheed Minar to raise our legitimate demands. The 11th grade is a step forward--a significant achievement for primary educators.”

Lipi confirmed that the Ministry of Finance issued a written statement affirming that the proposed pay grade adjustment would be swiftly approved following a review by the current Pay Commission. Officials pledged to expedite the process to ensure timely implementation.

Despite the overall consensus, the decision to suspend protests was met with resistance from some teacher leaders. Brief verbal disagreements erupted as participants left the meeting room, reflecting divisions over whether the 11th grade fully meets their original demand for the 10th grade.

However, the central leadership maintained that accepting the assurance was a strategic move to secure tangible progress without further confrontation.

The announcement of withdrawal brings an end to a three-day demonstration led by government primary school assistant teachers at Central Shaheed Minar, which had disrupted classes across the country. Protesters were demanding a three-point reform, including pay scale parity, job security, and improved service conditions.

Currently, assistant teachers are paid under the 13th grade of the national pay scale. Their push for reform gained momentum after the government recently promoted 65,502 head teachers to the 10th grade, sparking calls for equitable treatment.