Talks fail, teachers warn of renewed ‘March to Jamuna’

Talks between the education adviser and MPO-listed teachers and staff of private educational institutions demanding a three-point reform have ended without progress. As a result, the movement platform, MPO-listed Education Nationalisation Alliance, has warned of resuming its postponed ‘March to Jamuna’ programme if the government fails to meet their demands by Thursday afternoon, October 16.

The three demands include a 20% basic pay increase with a minimum of Tk 3,000 as house rent, Tk 1,500 as medical allowance, and a rise in festival bonuses for staff from 50% to 75%. Teachers and employees from MPO-listed private schools and colleges across the country have been protesting for five days, staging demonstrations at the Central Shaheed Minar and observing work abstention in all institutions.

Representatives of the alliance met the education adviser at the Secretariat on Thursday afternoon, showing some flexibility in their demands. They proposed a phased increase in house rent — 10% this year and another 10% in the next fiscal year.

However, Education Adviser C R Abrar informed them that the budget allocation process was at its final stage and, as per the Finance Ministry, a 5% house rent increase with a minimum of Tk 2,000 would be possible from November 1. He added that due to the current financial constraints, no further increase could be offered.

After returning to the Central Shaheed Minar, the alliance’s member secretary Delwar Hossain Azizi told reporters that the talks had failed. Setting a deadline until 5pm, he warned that teachers would begin the ‘March to Jamuna’ if their demands were not met.

He said, “The adviser has only staged eyewash in the name of dialogue.” Calling upon the chief adviser to take immediate steps to meet their demands, he added, “We no longer trust anyone else. You are our only hope. If you wish, resolve it; if not, this movement will spread like wildfire.”

Azizi further said that if the chief adviser failed to intervene, teachers would have no choice but to proceed with the ‘March to Jamuna’ at 5pm. “If necessary, let the authorities send forces to shoot us down — but we will not return to classrooms without achieving our demands,” he warned.