Non-MPO teachers’ protest steps into third week

Non-MPO teachers’ sit-in agitation for realising the demand of inclusion of their educational institutions in the monthly pay order system stepped into third week on Monday.
Teachers continued their sit-in programme for the 15th day on the day to press home their demands.
About 200 teachers from outlying districts under the banner of Non-MPO Educational Institutions Teachers and Employees Federation have passing their days and nights on the sidewalk of the National Press Club in Dhaka. They had also observed six days of hunger strike till November 4.
The federation general secretary, Taposh Kumar Kundu, said that they would continue their programme until their demands, including MPO inclusion, were met.
Teachers have been observing various peaceful and non-violent agitations to press home their demands. They also sought the prime minister’s intervention, but the government is yet to respond to their call.
Taposh said that none from the education ministry nor the Prime Minister’s Office had come forward to meet their demands.
Education ministry officials said that they did not see any possibility of inclusion of more educational institutions for MPO facilities. They said that education minister Nurul Islam Nahid had made the ministry’s stance clear on October 29.
Nurul Islam Nahid on October 29 had said that inclusion of new schools in MPO system would be possible only after increasing of the education budget.
Solution of the problem [MPO inclusion] is not in our hand as financial issues are correlated with the problem, he said.
About one lakh teachers, who are not enrolled into the MPO system, get no salary, house rent and medical allowance from the government.
A teacher generally gets Tk 5,000 to Tk 7,000 from their school authority a month while some schools do not at all pay their teachers for months, the agitating teachers said. With such a low pay, they can barely make their ends meet.
Low pay and benefits force these teachers to try to find out other means to earn extra money so that their expenses are met, said their leaders.
On October 26, they had begun their sit-in agitation at the Central Shaheed Minar and after holding sit-in for four days, they embarked on their fast-unto-death strike on October 30 in front of National Press Club.
They called off their fast-unto-death agitation on November 4 but continued their sit-in programme at the same place.
There are more than 8,000 educational institutions, including schools, colleges, madrasas and technical institutions which are waiting for the MPO privileges, statistics show.
Teachers and employees under the monthly pay order system enjoy 100 per cent basic salary from the national exchequer.
Nearly five lakh teachers and employees engaged in about 28,000 non-government post-primary educational institutions have been getting 100 per cent basic salary from the exchequer, in the form of monthly pay order, since July 2006.

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