The road transport and bridges minister and general secretary of the ruling Awami League, Obaidul Quader, on Saturday said that he had urged the public university teachers’ leaders to withdraw their strike.

After meeting the teachers’ leaders at the party’s office in the capital, Quader said that the teachers’ leaders would make decisions after discussing with other leaders of the federation.

The Federation of Bangladesh University Teachers Association enforced a boycott of classes and examinations starting from July 1, when the pension scheme ‘Prattay’ came into effect.

The teachers of public universities across the country are continuing their indefinite work abstention programme for the 13th consecutive day running on Saturday demanding the cancellation of the new universal pension scheme. They also demanded an independent pay structure for public university teachers.

The general staff of the universities also joined the strike, halting the administrative activities.

After the meeting, general secretary of the federation Professor Nizamul Hoque Bhuiyan said that they had a fruitful discussion and they would inform the media about their next course of action after discussing it with other leaders.

Among the 55 public universities in the country, 35, which are represented by the teachers’ federation, were affected by the strike, the federation leaders said.

Quader also said that the pension scheme for public university teachers would come into effect from 2025. He added that discussion would continue regarding other demands of the teachers.

Besides classes, examinations and administrative work, the universities also postponed programmes like fresher’s orientation classes due to the ongoing strike.