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Published : 21 Oct 2025, 12:08 PM
The ongoing protest movement by teachers and employees of educational institutions under the government’s monthly pay order (MPO) scheme demanding increases in various allowances, including housing rent, has entered its 10th day.
On Tuesday, protesters gathered at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka to press for higher house rent and medical allowances. They also demanded that the festival allowance for MPO-listed employees be increased to 75 percent of their basic salary.
Alongside the sit-in programme, a section of teachers and employees have continued a "hunger strike unto death". Four teachers participating in the hunger strike have fallen ill.
Protest leader Delwar Hossain Azizi said he had also become unwell, suffering from fever and stomach pain.
Later in the day, the protesting teachers and employees plan to march to Shahbagh with black cloths covering their mouths as part of a fresh demonstration.
Azizi, member secretary of the "Alliance for Nationalisation of MPO-Listed Educational Institutions", said discussions were under way with government representatives over their demands.
“The education ministry wants to sit with us for talks. We will go to the Secretariat for discussions. Depending on what the government proposes, we will consult with teachers and employees to decide on the next step,” he said.
“We are hopeful that the issue will move toward a quick solution.”
Teachers and employees under the alliance's banner have been demonstrating since Oct 12 to demand a 20 percent increase in house rent allowance, a rise in medical allowance from Tk 500 to Tk 1,500, and an increase in festival allowance from 50 percent to 75 percent of the basic salary.
On Oct 17, they added a new demand -- the nationalisation of all private educational institutions.
Leaders of various political parties, including the National Citizen Party (NCP) and Jamaat-e-Islami, and cultural group Inquilab Mancha have already expressed solidarity with the demands of the MPO-affiliated teachers and employees. The Dhaka University Central Students' Union (DUCSU), Jahangirnagar University Central Students' Union (JUCSU), students of Dhaka University, Jagannath University, and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), as well as various teachers’ organisations have also expressed support for the demands of the teachers and employees.
The government initially raised the house rent allowance for MPO-listed teachers and employees by Tk 500 on Sept 30, but teachers rejected the increase and called for protests after the announcement was made public on Oct 5.
On Oct 6, the education ministry proposed to the Finance Division that the house rent allowance be increased to at least Tk 2,000 or Tk 3,000. Teachers and employees began their continuous sit-in from Oct 12.
In the face of the protest movement, the government increased the housing allowance of teachers and employees of MPO-listed educational institutions to 5 percent of the basic salary, or a minimum of Tk 2,000, on Sunday. However, the teachers and employees have refused to budge from their demand of a 20 percent housing allowance.
MPO-listed teachers and staff receive salaries under the national pay scale. Along with their basic salary, they currently receive Tk 500 per month as a medical allowance. Previously, they received Tk 1,000 as a house rent allowance, which was increased and has now been set at 5 percent of the basic salary or a minimum of Tk 2,000.
Earlier, MPO-listed teachers received two annual festival allowances each at 25 percent of basic salary. Following an increase in May, they now receive festival allowances amounting to 50 percent of their basic pay.
