MPO teachers lift Shahbagh blockade, announce 'March to Jamuna' for Thursday
They withdrew the blockade around 5pm and started marching back toward the Central Shaheed Minar, allowing traffic movement to gradually return to normal.
Highlights
- Announced "March to Jamuna" from Shaheed Minar at noon Thursday
- Demanding 20% house rent, Tk1,500 medical, and 75% festival bonus
- Work abstention continues nationwide; classes remain suspended
MPO-listed teachers and staff of educational institutions have withdrawn their blockade at the Shahbagh intersection this afternoon (15 October) after several hours of protest demanding house rent, medical, and festival allowance increases.
The demonstrators, under the banner of the Alliance for Nationalisation of MPO-listed Education, withdrew the blockade around 5pm and started marching back toward the Central Shaheed Minar, allowing traffic movement to gradually return to normal.
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Speaking to journalists, Delwar Hossain Azizi, member secretary of the alliance, announced the next phase of their movement — a "March to Jamuna" tomorrow (16 October) starting from the Central Shaheed Minar at noon.
The blockade, which began around noon, follows yesterday's (14 October) "Road to Secretariat" march from Central Shaheed Minar, which was stopped near the High Court Mazar by police.
Later in the evening, the teachers staged a sit-in there and announced that they would block Shahbagh if their demands were not met by 12pm today.
They also warned that if the government continued to ignore their demands, they would announce tougher programmes such as marches toward the Jamuna and hunger strikes.
Their three-point demands are a 20% house rent allowance, a medical allowance of Tk1,500, and a 75% festival bonus for employees.
Teachers continue work abstention across the country, classes remain suspended
MPO-listed teachers and staff across the country are continuing their work abstention to press home their three-point demands.
As a result, classes remain suspended in most institutions, with students returning home after being informed by their teachers.
Reports from Bogura, Naogaon, Khulna, and Brahmanbaria show a similar picture — teachers are attending schools but not conducting classes. They have told students that regular classes and exams will resume once their demands are met.
Speaking to The Business Standard today (15 October), Principal Md Mohibullah of Khulna's National High School said, "We are not taking classes and are participating in the strike. Some students are coming to school but are returning home as classes remain suspended."
He added, "Secondary-level teachers in Bangladesh are among the most neglected professionals. The current salary is not enough to maintain a family, nor to cover the cost of our children's education and healthcare."
Later in the day, teachers from secondary schools, madrasahs, technical colleges, and colleges staged a human chain at the Shibbari intersection.
The protesting teachers also condemned the recent police attack on their colleagues during the teachers' rally in Dhaka on 12 October. They demanded a proper investigation and punishment for those responsible.
The teachers reiterated that their movement will continue until their demands are met and urged the concerned ministries to take immediate steps to resolve the issue.
Sazedur Rahman, senior teacher at Faizullah High School and member secretary of the Conscious Teachers' Society in Bogura, said, "We're signing the attendance sheet but not taking classes. We informed students that classes will resume after our demands are addressed."
Fatema-tuz-Zohura Misty, sixth grader at Bhimpur Junior Girls' School in Naogaon, said, "Once their [teachers'] issues are resolved, we'll be informed through announcements."
In Brahmanbaria, the work abstention entered its second day, bringing academic activities at nearly 400 MPO-listed schools, colleges, and madrasahs to a standstill. Students have been forced to return home as classes and exams remain suspended.
District Teachers' Association General Secretary Shahidul Islam said all three demands of the teachers are "logical and just."
"The work abstention will continue until our demands are fulfilled," he added.
Reason behind the protest
The current continuous sit-in follows an ultimatum issued by them on 13 August, demanding the nationalisation of MPO-listed private educational institutions along with increased benefits.
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 have reportedly been on 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.
