Demand for MPO
Cops foil teachers' hunger strike at Shaheed Minar
Nahid says govt can't meet the demand now
Teachers and employees of non-MPO educational institutions could not stage their hunger strike at Central Shaheed Minar in the face of opposition from police yesterday.
The hunger strikers gathered at the site around 10.30am. As police dispersed them, they moved to a nearby road at Dhaka University and formed a human chain there.
Police did not allow them to stay on the road for long either. The agitators then went to Suhrawardy Udyan, where they held the programme from 1 pm to 4 pm.
Under the banner of “Non-MPO Shikkha Pratishthan Shikkhak Karmachari Oikya Joteâ€, the teachers and employees on Wednesday declared their fast-unto-death in front of the Jatiya Press Club.
Alliance president Esharat Ali said their institutions are registered and they have been struggling to get those included in the Monthly Pay Order (MPO) for long.
He said they will continue the movement until their demands are met.
The protesters are scheduled to stage the strike in front of the Moghbazar office of the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission in the morning today.
Esharat said 26,000 educational institutions, which were already under MPO, have been nationalised but the teachers and employees of non-MPO institutions got nothing from the government.
This, he said, is inhuman and a “violation of human rightsâ€.
He said the education minister in June last year assured them that the non-MPO educational institutions will be brought under MPO in stages.
The agitating teachers are from registered non-government secondary schools, colleges, madrasas and technical education institutions.
Our Sylhet correspondent reports: Education minister Nurul Islam Nahid yesterday said the government cannot meet the demands of the teachers now due to financial constraints since 26,000 schools were nationalised this week.
“You [teachers] do not need to continue the agitation in the shivering cold,†he said. “It is not at all possible to arrange MPO for such a huge number of teachers. In course of time it would be considered.†The minister told reporters after inaugurating the National Schools and Madrasa Sports Competition at Sylhet stadium.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments