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Published : 16 Oct 2025, 03:11 PM
Teachers and employees under the MPO scheme have continued their protest programme for a fifth consecutive day to push for 20 percent of their basic salary as housing allowance.
Although they announced a march towards the chief advisor's official residence -- the State Guest House Jamuna -- on Thursday, they were still conducting a sit-in demonstration at the Central Shaheed Minar as of 2pm.
Mizanur Rahman, a protesting teacher, said: "We have a march planned towards the Jamuna. However, our leaders have gone to the Secretariat, and a decision will be made on the previously announced programme when they return. Now we are continuing our sit-in at the Shaheed Minar."
However, the protesters said they would continue the strike and other protests if their demands were not fulfilled.
Thousands of teachers and employees gathered at the Central Shaheed Minar after 12pm to participate in the march towards the Jamuna.
They have divided themselves into groups and are chanting slogans together.
On Wednesday, the MPO teachers and employees left Shahbagh intersection after blocking it for about three hours and returned at Shaheed Minar again after 5pm.
Principal Delwar Hossain Azizi, secretary of the MPO-affiliated teachers and employees’ platform Education Nationalisation Aspiration Alliance, announced Thursday’s march towards Jamuna at the Shahbag rally.
The MPO teachers and staff members are demanding 20 percent of their basic salary as housing allowance, an increase in medical allowance from Tk 500 to Tk 1,500, and an increase in the festival allowance from 50 percent to 75 percent of the basic salary.
They have been demonstrating since Sunday under the banner of the Education Nationalisation Aspiration Alliance.
Although a continuous sit-in programme began in front of the National Press Club that morning, they moved to the Central Shaheed Minar at the request of the police in the afternoon.
However, another section of the protesters refused to leave and remained in front of the National Press Club.
Around 1:55pm, police again instructed the teachers to vacate the road. When a section of the protesters resisted, police used sound grenades and batons to disperse them. Water cannons were also brought in front of the National Press Club.
Following the incident, the alliance announced a nationwide strike at all private educational institutions starting Monday in protest of the police action.
On Tuesday afternoon, the protesters attempted to march from Shaheed Minar to the Secretariat but were stopped by police in front of the High Court’s Mazar Gate.
After staying there until 8pm, the teachers and employees returned to Shaheed Minar and spent the night there.
Azizi had earlier announced that if the government failed to issue a notification fulfilling their demands by 12pm on Wednesday, they would enforce a blockade at the Shahbagh intersection.
On Sept 30, the government increased the housing allowance for MPO-registered teachers and employees by Tk 500. When the announcement was made public on Oct 5, teachers rejected it and called for further protests.
