Teachers and staff from MPO-listed educational institutions across Bangladesh continued their sit-in and work abstention for the second consecutive day on Sunday (13 October), demanding the nationalisation of their institutions and increased benefits, including higher allowances.
The demonstrators, under the banner “Alliance for Nationalisation of MPO-listed Education”, have been staging their protest at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka since Saturday, calling for a 20% house rent allowance, Tk1,500 in medical allowance, and 75% festival allowance for non-teaching staff.
They also demanded a fair investigation and accountability over the police attack on protesting teachers in front of the National Press Club yesterday, as well as the immediate release of those detained.
Principal Delwar Hossain Aziz, the alliance’s member secretary, along with over a hundred teachers, spent the night at the Shaheed Minar premises to press home their demands.
Nationwide academic disruption
All classes at MPO-listed schools, colleges, madrasahs, and technical institutions remain suspended due to the ongoing work abstention. The strike has also disrupted other activities, including campus-based health programmes such as typhoid vaccination drives.
“We came from our institution in Bogura to join the Dhaka sit-in. Although other teachers went to campus today, no classes are being held,” said ATM Safi Mahmud, assistant professor at Dargahat Degree College in Kahaloo upazila.
Similar scenes are unfolding nationwide. “Office activities are ongoing, but all teaching activities have been suspended. We will continue our sit-in until our demands are met,” said Moulod Hossain, a lecturer from Dinajpur’s Raghunathpur College.
In Mollahat upazila of Bagerhat, a senior teacher confirmed that none of the 27 MPO-listed schools are conducting classes. Headteachers have also met to coordinate their participation in the Dhaka protest. Comparable programmes are being observed in Terokhada and Rupsha upazilas of Khulna district.
Background of the protest
The sit-in follows an ultimatum issued by the alliance on 13 August, demanding both nationalisation of MPO-listed private educational institutions and increased benefits for teachers and staff.
While the Ministry of Education reportedly agreed in principle to raise the house rent allowance to 20% and increase medical allowance from Tk500 to Tk1,000, it cited budget limitations and said the implementation would be gradual.
Teachers, however, have been demanding these benefits since 2011 and are now urging the interim government to issue an official gazette rather than relying on verbal commitments. In August, they warned that failure to meet their demands would lead to continuous protests — a warning that has now materialised.
