Government secondary school teachers across the country have announced a full-day strike starting Monday, after the authorities failed to meet their demands despite two days of sit-in protests and a formal ultimatum.

The Bangladesh Government Secondary Teachers’ Association (BGSTA) said it will boycott all ongoing annual and SSC examinations, including invigilation and script evaluation, in protest. The move is expected to disrupt secondary-level academic activities nationwide.

Teachers had staged a sit-in at the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) on Saturday and Sunday, following an initial protest on Thursday and a November 30 deadline for the government to act. With no resolution in sight, the association declared the strike.

“We’ve given the government every chance,” said a BGSTA leader. “If our demands are met now, we’ll hold the remaining exams on Fridays and Saturdays and ensure results are published by December. If not, we’ll take stronger measures starting Wednesday.”

The government secondary teachers’ core demands include inclusion of the entry-level Assistant Teacher (9th grade) post in the BCS (General Education) cadre with immediate DSHE gazette notification, prompt recruitment and promotion to all vacant teaching and inspection posts, clearance of pending time-scale and selection-grade approvals within three working days as per Supreme Court directives, and restoration of pre-2015 benefits including 2–3 increments and higher advance salary for assistant teachers.

Teachers said that years of unfulfilled promises and stalled reforms have left them with no alternative but to escalate.