Police block special school teachers’ Jamuna march over MPO inclusion

A seven-member delegation has been allowed in for discussions

Police have blocked a group of teachers as they attempted to march towards the State Guest House Jamuna over demands to include schools for children with disabilities as MPO-enlisted institutions.

When stopped, the teachers blocked the road outside the National Press Club on Monday, prompting police to remove them by force.

Earlier in the day, the teachers had been holding a sit-in at the same location as part of their ongoing protest.

Around noon, the demonstrators began marching towards Jamuna, but police intercepted them near the Kadom Fountain.

A seven-member delegation from the group was later allowed to meet with authorities for discussions, while others continued their protest on the street.

After about half an hour, police dispersed the demonstrators, leading to scuffles between officers and the teachers.

The protesters then returned to their sit-in outside the Press Club.

One of the demonstrating teachers told bdnews24.com, “We’ve been staging our protest for nine days. When the police blocked our march, we sat on the road in protest. They used force to remove us and detained one of our colleagues for questioning.”

The teachers’ five-point demand includes:

Immediate recognition and MPO inclusion of all special (autism and disability) schools.

Ensuring disability-friendly infrastructure for all special schools.

Ensuring special students’ stipends of Tk 3,000.

Providing mid-day meals, educational materials, sports equipment and establishing therapy centres.

Creating employment and rehabilitation opportunities under vocational education, and ensuring reserved quotas for people with disabilities in all job sectors.