Teachers and staff under the banner of "MPO-vukto Shikkha Jatiyakoron Prottashi Jote", observe a sit-in in front of the Press Club in the city on Sunday to press home their three-point demand, which includes a 20 per cent house rent allowance on their basic salary. — FE Photo Police dispersed on Sunday teachers and staffers of MPO-listed non-government educational institutions rallying in front of the National Press Club in the city voicing their three-point charter of demand.
They demanded 20 per cent house rent allowance based on their basic salary and an increase in medical allowance.
They also demanded a raise in the medical allowance to Tk 1,500 for both teachers and staffers as well as festival allowance for staffers at 75 per cent.
After the police action, the teachers and staffers said they would observe full-day work abstention from today (Monday) for an indefinite period.
They announced the work abstention programme in protest against the attack on the demonstrating teachers in front of the National Press Club demanding 20 per cent house rent allowance.
Secretary of the Alliance for Nationalisation of Education Member Delwar Hossain Azizi announced the programme at the Central Shaheed Minar on Sunday evening.
They earlier participated in the rally under the banner of 'MPO-Listed Education Nationalisation Aspirants Alliance' at about 8:00 am.
Around 1:30 pm, a team led by Masud Alam, deputy commissioner (DC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Ramna Division issued an ultimatum for the protesting teachers to clear the road.
Addressing the teachers, DC Masud Alam said, "Move to the Shaheed Minar; you have five minutes. After five minutes, we will take legal action. Your leaders have already gone to the Shaheed Minar, so you must not block the road here."
The protesting teachers refused to leave, stating they would continue the blockade at any cost. One of the protesting teachers, Nazrul Islam said, "We will not leave the street until our demand is met."
Around 1:50 pm the police used water cannons on the teachers and blasted sound grenades to disperse them from the National Press Club area aiming to restore traffic.
Several protesters were reportedly injured. Their identities could not be confirmed immediately.
Later the police opened part of the road in front of the Press Club.
On one side, there were police personnel while on the other side some of the protesting teachers continued their demonstration.
After using water cannons and sound grenades to disperse the teachers the police charged baton against them.
However, the teachers repeatedly returned to the streets, resuming their protest and raising slogans. As of 2:15 pm, police managed to disperse the teachers and staffers.
"We went to the Ministry of Finance and held discussions with officials. They could not give us any concrete assurances. We do not want to wait further. No teacher will return to any institution without our demand met," Delwar Hossain Azizi, a leader of the MPO-Listed Education Nationalisation Aspirants Alliance, said.
"We will not leave Dhaka. We will all stay here. The road in front of the Press Club is narrow. If thousands of us occupy it, it will create severe traffic congestions. To avoid public inconvenience, we will continue our sit-in at the Central Shaheed Minar. Our movement will continue until the notification is issued. We will stay in Dhaka," he warned.
At the same time, he also announced class boycott.
"We are here for the students, but the government is ignoring our difficult situation. Our students support us. Therefore, from Tuesday (October 14), we will boycott classes in all MPO-listed educational institutions across the country. We will not enter classrooms until our demand is fulfilled," he maintained.
talhabinhabib@yahoo.com
© 2026 - All Rights with The Financial Express
