Bangladesh teachers and staff from non‑government schools are on the brink of a long march toward the Secretariat, after their sit‑in in Dhaka entered a third day. The protest is led by the Education Nationalisation Alliance and demands better pay and benefits under the Monthly Pay Order (MPO) scheme.
The main requests are a 20 % house‑rent allowance, a medical allowance of 1,500 taka, and a 75 % festival bonus for MPO employees. “We will not leave the streets until the government issues a notification fixing these allowances,” said Delwar Hossain Azizi, secretary of the alliance. “The education sector is shut down. Teachers and staff will not work until our demands are met.”
Teachers across the country have stopped classes and are refusing to teach until the government agrees. Azzizi told the Bengali daily Prothom Alo that they have rejected the education adviser’s proposal and will only accept an official gazette notice.
The protests began after the interim government approved a raise in the house‑rent allowance from 1,000 to 1,500 taka on September 30. The first sit‑in took place outside the National Press Club, but police used water cannons, baton charges and sound grenades to disperse the crowd. The demonstrators then moved to the Central Shaheed Minar.
The ruling Awami League blasted the Muhammad Yunus‑led government for its forceful response. “Teachers asking for fair pay are met with water cannons and brutes,” the party said on X. “It’s not reform; it’s repression.”
Bangladesh has seen widespread protests and police crack‑downs since last year’s violent struggles that toppled the elected government of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The current turmoil shows how fragile the country’s education sector and its civil society have become.
Source: ianslive
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