Teachers from Monthly Pay Order (MPO)-listed educational institutions have continued their protest outside the Jatiya Press Club for a second day, demanding the nationalization of their schools, colleges, madrasas, and technical institutes.
Members of the “MPO-bhukto Shikkha Jatiyakaran Protyashi Jote,” or the “Alliance seeking the nationalization of MPO-listed educational institutions,” also called for the implementation of housing allowance, medical allowance, and festival allowance for teachers and staff members in accordance with government rules.
The protesting teachers warned of escalating their protests into work stoppages, hunger strikes, and boycotts of secondary and Dakhil exams nationwide if their demands are not met.
They mentioned that they had already met with Education and Planning Advisor Wahiduddin Mahmud twice to discuss their concerns.
On Tuesday, the advisor assured them that allowances would be increased in the upcoming budget. However, he added that the current government could not make a decision on the nationalization of the institutions and encouraged them to present their demands to the next elected government.
Delowar Hossain, the secretary of the protesting organization, told bdnews24.com: “We no longer trust their assurances. They must come to the Press Club and declare that our demands have been accepted.”
“We will end the protests even if the institutions are not nationalized, as long as we are provided with allowances according to government rules and the budget allocation is increased starting from this upcoming Eid.”
At present, teachers listed under MPO receive Tk 1,000 as housing allowance, 25 percent of their base salary as festival allowance, and Tk 500 as medical allowance.
