MPO teachers call rally at Shaheed Minar amid fast-unto-death protest

Delawar Hossain Azizi says BNP’s Fakhrul promised to speak to the finance advisor about their demands

Teachers eligible for the MPO have announced a rally at the Central Shaheed Minar on Monday, demanding a 20 percent housing allowance from salary and the nationalisation of all private educational institutions.

Delawar Hossain Azizi, secretary of the MPO teachers’ nationalisation alliance, announced it during the eighth consecutive day of the sit-in at Shaheed Minar on Sunday.

He said, “We have discussed our demands with BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. He told us he would speak with the finance advisor about our demands and would be present among teachers on the 22nd of October.

“The Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner has requested some time. On Monday, we will hold a teachers’ assembly at Shaheed Minar with hundreds of thousands of teachers present.”

Azizi also said that MPO teachers will observe work stoppages in private institutions while the hunger strike continues.

Joining the sit-in, Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) VP Shadik Kayem urged the government to meet the teachers’ demands.

He said, “I request the interim government to accept the teachers’ rightful demands and engage quickly with the movement’s leadership to take effective measures.”