Police lob sound-grenades, use water canons to disperse protesting teachers from National Press Club
The demonstration, attended by teachers from secondary schools, colleges, madrasas, and technical institutions nationwide, began this morning with protest rallies and positioning themselves for a sustained sit-in until their demands are met
Highlights
- The MPO teachers' sit-in currently appears to be holding at the Jatiya Press Club.
- Core demand is the gazette issuance for 20% house rent, Tk1,500 medical allowance, and 75% festival bonus.
- Teachers are protesting the failure to implement benefits
- The protest will continue until MPO institutions' nationalisation is achieved.
- Teachers label the current Tk1,500 house rent as "mockery" & an act of discrimination.
- Protest follows discussions where the Education Ministry cited budget constraints but agreed to the demands in principle.
- 18th NTRCA examinees gathered at Shahbagh as well, demanding a special recruitment circular.
Police have lobbed tear gas and used water canons to disperse protesting teachers who took to the streets this morning as part of a continuous sit-in programme in front of the Jatiya Press Club today (12 October) over the gazette issuance on promised allowance increases.
Bite-Sized: Why are MPO teachers protesting and what are their demands?
The protesting body, the Alliance for Nationalisation of Education, is demanding the immediate notification of three specific benefits: 20% house rent, a Tk1,500 medical allowance, and 75% festival bonus for employees — all of which they claim were promised by Education Adviser CR Abrar.
However, at around 1:40pm police lobbed sound grenades and used water canons to disperse them from the spot. Teachers were beaten by police while trying to remove them from the road.
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Protesting teachers move Shaheed Minar after police action
The protesting teachers and employees, who had been staging a sit-in in front of the National Press Club since this morning, gathered at the Central Shaheed Minar after being dispersed by police.
During the police action, the protesters retreated from their road blockade and moved towards the Shaheed Minar premises, allowing traffic to resume after hours of disruption.
As of 3:30pm, the teachers remained at the Shaheed Minar, continuing their sit-in.
Dropped NTRCA candidates block Shahbagh
Meanwhile, candidates who were dropped during the viva voce stage of the 18th Non-Government Teachers Registration and Certificate Authority (NTRCA) exam gathered at Shahbagh, Dhaka, this morning, blocking the entire road to demand a review of the viva results and immediate issuance of registration certificates.
Police later dispersed them, after which they took position in front of the National Museum.
The demonstration at National Press Club, attended by teachers from secondary schools, colleges, madrasas, and technical institutions nationwide, began this morning with protest rallies and positioning themselves for a sustained sit-in until their demands are met.
What the protesting teachers are saying
Md Makshed Ali, superintendent of Bhaudanga Mostafa Biya Dakhil Madrasa in Pabna Sadar, said, "We were peacefully demonstrating in front of the Press Club when police suddenly attacked us. This unprovoked action against innocent teachers is deeply unfortunate. We are now continuing our sit-in at Shaheed Minar until our demands are met."
An assistant teacher from Madhukhali upazila in Faridpur said, "We do not want a lump sum house rent increase. Teachers and employees at MPO-affiliated institutions received only a Tk500 rise from Tk1,000 to Tk1,500 — which is insulting. We have long been demanding that house rent be fixed at 20% of the basic salary. Similarly, our festival allowance remains only 50% of the basic, which is discriminatory. We will continue our sit-in until the government addresses these injustices."
"The government is mocking us," said Masud Parvez, a lecturer of Bangla at Nayachar Islamia Fazil Madrasa in Kurigram's Rajibpur. "We will not return home until the nationalisation demand is met. For now, the government is only allocating a Tk500 house rent allowance per month."
Habibur Rahman, a teacher who travelled from Rangpur, highlighted the disparity facing educators, "We are the architects of humanity, yet we face discrimination. We are not receiving the facilities we were assured of by the education adviser. This has compelled us to take to the streets."
Teachers' delegation visit secretariat
Earlier in the day, a 13-member delegation of protesting teachers visited the Secretariat to discuss their demands with the finance adviser and secretary.
The delegation included Principal Main Uddin, convener of the MPO-affiliated Education Nationalisation Alliance, member secretary Principal Delwar Hossain Azizi, joint member secretary Rafiqul Islam, Abu Taleb Sohag, Ashrafuzzaman Hanif, Alauddin, Tofail Sarkar, Shanto Islam, Engineer Abul Bashar, convener Nurul Amin Helali, Habibullah Raju, Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, and Azizur Rahman Azam.
The current continuous sit-in follows an ultimatum issued by the them on 13 August, demanding the nationalisation of MPO-listed private educational institutions along with increased benefits.
Delwar Hossain Azizi, member secretary of the alliance, had previously reported that their delegation met with Adviser CR Abrar at the secretariat to discuss raising allowances.
While the ministry reportedly agreed in principle to increase house rent to 20% and medical allowance from Tk500 to Tk1,000, it cited budget constraints and stated that implementation would be gradual.
The teachers, who reportedly have been at protest since 2011 for these benefits, are now pushing the interim government to translate the verbal assurances into official gazettes. They warned in August that failure to meet their demands would result in a continuous occupation of the press club area.
