MPO teachers' protest continues, work abstention from Tuesday

Teachers and employees of private schools and colleges under the MPO scheme have rejected the government’s announced increase in house rent allowance, terming it “insufficient and unrealistic”. They have been staging a continuous sit-in in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka since Sunday, October 12, demanding a 20 percent house rent allowance based on their basic salary.

Under the banner of the Alliance for the Nationalisation of MPO-Listed Education, several thousand teachers and employees joined the demonstration at 9am on Sunday. They have also announced a work abstention starting from Tuesday to press home their demands.

In addition to a 20 percent house rent allowance, the protesters are demanding that the medical allowance be increased from Tk 500 to Tk 1,500, and that the festival bonus be raised from 50 to 75 percent of the basic salary.

Speaking to reporters at around 11:45am, the alliance’s member secretary, Principal Delwar Hossain Azizi, said, “We have declared a work abstention from Tuesday. From that day onwards, all schools, colleges, madrasas, and technical institutions will observe a continuous strike until the government issues an official notification fulfilling our demands. The movement will continue until the government increases the house rent allowance by 20 percent of the basic salary, raises the medical allowance from Tk 500 to Tk 1,500, and the festival bonus from 50 to 75 percent.”

Leaders of the teachers’ associations said the government’s circular has yet to fulfil their proposed demands regarding the house rent and medical allowances. They vowed to continue their movement on the streets until their demands are met.

At around 1:45pm, police reportedly fired sound grenades to disperse the demonstrating teachers and employees. Before that, police were seen advancing towards the protesters near the Press Club. In response, the agitating teachers chanted slogans such as “Bhuya, bhuya” (fake, fake) towards the police. Although the teachers briefly dispersed due to the sound grenades, they soon regrouped in front of the Press Club, where leaders urged everyone through loudspeakers to maintain unity and avoid any disorderly behaviour.

Earlier in the afternoon, a 13-member delegation of the protesting MPO-listed teachers went to the Secretariat for a meeting with the Finance Adviser and Secretary. The delegation included alliance convener Principal Main Uddin, member secretary Principal Delwar Hossain Azizi, joint member secretaries Md Rafiqul Islam, Md Abu Taleb Sohag, Ashrafuluzzaman Hanif, Principal Alauddin, Tofail Sarkar, and Shanto Islam; joint conveners Nurul Amin Helali, Habibullah Raju, and Mohammad Mizanur Rahman; joint member secretary Engineer Abul Bashar, and Azizur Rahman Azam.

As part of their continuous sit-in programme, the MPO-listed teachers formally began their demonstration at 10am on Sunday in front of the National Press Club.

It may be recalled that on August 13, the organisation initially staged a rally at the same venue demanding increases in house rent and medical allowances and the introduction of a universal transfer policy. As part of their subsequent movement, they observed a half-day work abstention on September 14, full-day abstentions on September 15 and 16, held teachers’ conferences in divisional cities, and announced an indefinite sit-in programme starting from October 12.