Police deployed water cannons and sound grenades on Sunday afternoon to disperse a protest by MPO-listed teachers and staff outside the National Press Club in Dhaka, who were demanding a 20 percent increase in house rent allowance along with higher medical and festival allowances.
The protest, organized under the banner of the MPO Education Nationalization Alliance, began in the morning around 9:00 AM with thousands of teachers gathering to press for their demands. They also announced a continuous strike across schools, colleges, madrasas, and technical institutes from Tuesday, if their demands were not met.
By early afternoon, law enforcement authorities first used several sound grenades to break up the gathering. When many teachers continued to remain at the site, police resorted to water cannons to disperse the crowd.
The teachers’ demands include increasing the house rent allowance from the current 1,500 Taka to 20 percent of the base salary, raising medical allowance from 500 Taka to 1,500 Taka, and increasing festival allowance from 50 percent to 75 percent of the base salary.
A spokesperson for the MPO Education Nationalization Alliance stated that the continuous strike and sit-in will continue until the government issues a formal notification implementing these demands.
Teachers from across the country, including remote districts, participated in the demonstration, emphasizing their determination to continue the protest until the government addresses their demands.
Earlier, on September 30, the government increased the house rent allowance by 500 Taka, but when the notification was issued on October 5, the teachers rejected it and called for protests. On October 6, the Ministry of Education sent a proposal to the Finance Ministry suggesting a higher allowance, ranging between 2,000 and 3,000 Taka.
MPO-listed teachers receive salaries according to the national pay scale, including 500 Taka medical allowance and a 1,500 Taka house rent allowance. Previously, they received festival allowances at 50 percent of the base salary.
The protest caused significant traffic disruptions in central Dhaka during the morning and early afternoon hours.
