The teachers of the secondary-level schools under the monthly pay order system will lay siege to the Bangladesh Secretariat today, pressing for job nationalisation and pay hike which they demand to be met before coming Eid-ul-Azha.
Their announcement of besieging the secretariat came on Tuesday from an indefinite sit-in programme held in front of the National Press Club in the capital.
Under the banner of the Unity Council of Teachers and Employees, they continued an indefinite period of sit-in in front of the National Press Club in the capital for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday.
They are scheduled to start a long march from the press club area at noon today towards the secretariat to lay siege to it.
Earlier on Sunday, they besieged Shikkha Bhaban that houses the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education for an hour, demanding April salaries for 5,50,000 MPO teachers.
They withdrew from there after the officials of the Directorate General of Secondary Education assured them that the arrears would be paid soon.
The teachers, however, continued their sit-in, demanding that the government must immediately take step to implement the announcements made in March by then education adviser Wahiduudin Mahmud.
On March 5, Wahiduudin announced an increase in the festival, medical and recreation allowances and house rent of the teachers from this Eid-ul-Azha. At the time he also said that a fund was also created for retirement benefits.
His announcement came after teachers under the MPO system enforced a strike for 22 days.
The teachers, following the announcement, on March 6 postponed their strike till Eid-ul-Azha.
Currently, MPO teachers get 25 per cent of their basic salary as festival allowance, Tk 1,000 as house rent and Tk 500 as medical allowance. There are no pension facilities for them.
At the entry level, an assistant teacher under the MPO system gets Tk 12,500 gross salary.
On the other hand, in government schools, an entry-level teacher gets Tk 16,000 as basic salary, Tk 1,500 as medical allowance, 100 per cent of their basic salary as festival allowance, and 45 per cent of their basic pay as house rent, leaders of the protesting teachers said.
