Around 2,000 teachers and employees of MPO-listed educational institutions went on a fast unto death in front of the Jatiya Press Club in the city on Monday demanding nationalisation of their institutions, reports UNB.
They began the hunger strike as their demand for nationalising all educational institutions having Monthly Pay Order (MPO) facilities went unheeded even after a five-day sit-in since Wednesday.
The teachers and employees went on the hunger strike from 10:00am under the banner of 'Besarkari Shikkha Jatiyakoron Liyajo Forum', a platform of six organisations of teachers and employees all over the country.
The organisations are Bangladesh Besarkari Shikkhak Karmachari Forum, Bangladesh Shikkhak Parishad (Nazrul), Bangladesh Teachers' Union, Jatiya Shikkhak Parishad, Bangladesh Shikkhak Parishad (Shah Al Jasim) and Besarkari Shikkha Prothisthan Karmachari Parishad.
Matiur Rahman, joint convener of the Liyajo Forum, claimed that around 5 million teachers and employees of 37,000 MPO-listed educational institutions are being deprived of proper pay and allowances although they work as much as their counterparts at the government institutions.
He also said more teachers and employees are on the way to join the strike, threatening to continue the hunger strike until their demand is met.
Another report adds: several hundred Ebtedayee madrasa teachers continued their hunger strike on the street in front of the National Press Club for the seventh straight day on Monday, demanding nationalisation of all registered primary-equivalent Islamic schools.
They are passing days and nights in great miseries, struggling hard to fight the January cold with thin blankets and over 150 of them are already taking supports of intravenous saline for survival.
Twelve more teachers fell sick on Monday and two others were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, raising the number of indisposed teachers to 177 so far.
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