‘Long march to secretariat’ if demands not met, MPO teachers issue ultimatum

MPO-listed teachers, who have been staging a sit-in at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka for the last three days, have warned that they will begin a ‘Long March to the Secretariat’ at 4pm today (Tuesday) if their demands are not met by 3pm.

Delwar Hossain Azizi, member secretary of the MPO-vukto Shikkha Jatiyokoron Prottashi Jote, announced the ultimatum to journalists this noon.

He said the teachers have given the government time until 3pm. If the three-point demand is accepted by then, they will not go for the march. Otherwise, they will start the ‘Long March to the Secretariat’ from 4pm.

Their demands include a 20 percent or minimum Tk 3,000 house rent allowance based on the basic salary, increasing the medical allowance to Tk 1,500 for both teachers and staff, and raising the festival allowance for staff to 75 percent.

Teachers and staff under MPO have been demonstrating at the Central Shaheed Minar for three days to press these demands. They were supposed to start the march towards the Secretariat at 12 noon today. However, following a request from National Citizen Party (NCP) leader Hasnat Abdullah, they postponed the programme and gave the government a deadline.

Delwar Hossain Azizi told the media that they rejected the discussion proposal from the Education Adviser’s office. “We have only one demand — issue the circular. There is no scope for further discussion,” he said.

Earlier, around 11:45am, a team of police led by Ramna Division DC Masud Alam went to the Shaheed Minar and requested the teachers to delay the march. During that time, Delwar Hossain received a phone call from NCP leader Hasnat Abdullah, who also requested postponement.

Delwar said the administration informed them that their demands would be met but issuing the circular would take some time. Hasnat Abdullah also gave similar assurance. “However, we have made it clear that without the circular, we cannot withdraw the march,” he said.

Meanwhile, MPO-listed teachers across the country are continuing their work abstention. They are attending schools but not entering classrooms or taking part in teaching activities. Instead, they are staying in school premises, lounges, and offices to continue their sit-in.

Teachers in different districts are also holding demonstrations with banners and placards, while many are expressing solidarity on social media by posting messages supporting the Dhaka protesters.

On the first day of the protest, police dispersed the teachers’ demonstration with force, leaving several