ON OCTOBER 12, hundreds of MPO-listed teachers once again gathered at the National Press Club in Dhaka, beginning their continuous sit-in to demand fair compensation. The demonstration started peacefully, but soon turned tense as police used sound grenades to disperse the crowd. A picture circulating online showed a teacher arrested with handcuffs, an image that painfully captured how the very people responsible for shaping Bangladesh鈥檚 future are being treated.
This sit-in is the latest chapter in a long-standing movement by the MPO-Listed Education Nationalisation Alliance. Earlier, on August 13, thousands of teachers and staff had rallied at the same venue to press their demands for nationalisation and fair allowances. At that meeting, the education adviser promised to raise the house rent allowance to 20 per cent of the basic salary, increase the medical allowance to Tk 1,500, and enhance the festival bonus to 75 per cent.
However, two months have passed without these assurances being implemented. Instead, on October 5, the government increased the house rent allowance by only Tk 500, from Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,500, a decision teachers described as a mockery of their struggle. That same day, the Ministry of Education forwarded a new proposal to the Ministry of Finance for approval, but as of today, no formal decision has been announced.
An assistant teacher in an MPO secondary school or madrasa currently earns a basic salary of Tk 12,500, plus Tk 1,000 as house rent, Tk 500 as medical allowance, and Tk 1,000 as special incentive, amounting to a gross salary of Tk 15,000. After a mandatory 10 per cent deduction for pension and welfare funds, the take-home pay stands at Tk 13,750. This meagre income barely sustains a household, especially in urban areas.
According to the Centre for Policy Dialogue, the minimum monthly living cost for a modest four-member family in Dhaka is Tk 47,182. Even the rent for a single-room flat in Dhaka or Chattogram can range between Tk 8,000 and Tk 12,000 per month. Teachers living in cities and those in rural areas receive the same pay despite vastly different living expenses. The current flat-rate allowance system ignores these disparities, leaving many teachers struggling to afford basic necessities.
This economic hardship has deep moral consequences. When educators who build the nation鈥檚 intellectual foundation cannot afford decent housing, medical care, or their children鈥檚 education, it undermines their dignity and sense of purpose. Low pay and broken promises have weakened teachers鈥� trust in the government. The Tk 500 increase in allowance has been widely perceived as a symbolic gesture rather than a meaningful policy response.
鈥榃e were promised reform, not pocket change,鈥� one protesting teacher told reporters. The use of police force against peaceful demonstrators has further eroded confidence, and public sympathy now strongly leans towards the teachers. The movement also highlights the government鈥檚 long-standing failure to implement its own commitments.
The National Education Policy 2010, the Eighth Five-Year Plan, and the Education Sector Program 4 (ESP4) all emphasise improving teacher welfare and ensuring fair pay. Yet, these commitments remain largely unfulfilled. Teachers鈥� dissatisfaction has reached a breaking point, and the protests are the result of accumulated frustration rather than sudden unrest. Underpaid and overworked, many educators are now questioning whether teaching remains a viable profession at all. A 2024 survey by Transparency International Bangladesh revealed that nearly 68 per cent of MPO teachers had considered leaving the profession due to financial hardship.
Research has consistently shown that teacher compensation directly affects classroom quality. Studies by Dolton and Marcenaro (2023) demonstrate that low salaries correlate with higher absenteeism, weaker classroom engagement, and increased turnover. In Bangladesh, many teachers supplement their income through private tutoring, reducing the time and energy available for lesson preparation or student mentoring. Consequently, the overall quality of education suffers, not because teachers lack dedication, but because the system denies them the means to live with dignity.
To address this crisis, the government must immediately implement the promises made in August. The house rent allowance should be raised to 20 per cent of the basic salary, adjusted proportionally across urban and rural areas. The medical allowance must be increased to Tk 1,500 for all MPO-listed teachers and employees, and the festival bonus should be enhanced to 75 per cent of the basic pay. These reforms require political will, not massive resources. An independent Teacher Welfare Commission could also help monitor implementation and prevent delays.
The movement of the teachers is not merely a protest; it is a plea for dignity. Teachers are not asking for privilege but for fairness and recognition. A country that calls its educators the 鈥榓rchitects of the nation鈥� cannot continue to underpay and overlook them. If Bangladesh aspires to be a knowledge-driven economy, it must first ensure that those who build that knowledge can live decently. Symbolic gestures will not suffice; the government must honour its promises through policy and action. The future of the nation depends on whether its teachers can afford to stay in the classroom.
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Md. Abdullah is an education听听policy researcher.