Demanding higher pay and allowances, MPO-listed teachers and employees have suspended their planned “March to Jamuna” and declared a hunger strike unto death.
The announcement came on Thursday evening at the Central Shaheed Minar, where they have been staging continuous demonstrations for five consecutive days.
Professor Delwar Hossain Azizi, member secretary of the MPO-Listed Education Nationalization Forum, made the declaration before protesters, saying: “We will not leave this place until our demands are met — even if it costs our lives. We will begin our hunger strike tomorrow (Friday) at 2pm.”
Daylong protest, change of plan
The teachers began yesterday with a sit-in at the Shaheed Minar before heading to the Secretariat for a meeting with Education Adviser Professor CR Abrar.
Returning around 3:15pm, they gave the government until 5pm to respond to their demands, warning of a march toward the Jamuna if no solution was reached.
Later in the evening, however, Azizi announced the march’s postponement, citing concerns over possible unrest along the route.
“We do not want disorder,” he said, but vowed that the movement would continue through hunger strike, sit-ins, and work abstention.
Classes will remain suspended until their demands are met.
Government proposal
Following the Secretariat meeting, Adviser Abrar told reporters that the Finance Ministry had agreed to raise the house rent allowance by 5% (minimum Tk2,000) from November 1, though further increases were not possible under current budget constraints.
He added that additional allocations could be considered in the next fiscal year.
The teachers rejected the proposal, insisting on a 10% increase this year and another 10% next year.
Secondary and Higher Education Secretary Rehana Parveen said that the Tk2,000 increment would effectively provide around 90% of MPO-listed teachers with a 10% allowance increase, but protesters said this fell short of their original demands.
Why the movement
Since Sunday, MPO-listed teachers and employees have been staging demonstrations to press home their demands, which include a 20% house rent allowance with a minimum of Tk3,000, an increase in medical allowance from Tk500 to Tk1,500, and a rise in the festival bonus from 50% to 75%.
The protest began in front of the National Press Club but was dispersed by police using water cannons and batons.
Demonstrators then regrouped at the Central Shaheed Minar, where they have continued their sit-in and work abstention.
The Monthly Pay Order (MPO) is a government subsidy program that provides salary support to teachers and employees of non-government educational institutions.
More than 600,000 teachers and staff currently receive MPO benefits — including 398,000 under the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, about 200,000 under the Madrasa Education Directorate, and over 23,000 under the Technical Education Directorate.
While some institutions with strong internal revenue pay teachers independently, most private institutions remain heavily dependent on MPO allocations for staff salaries.
