HUNGER STRIKE FOR NATIONALISATION PRIVATE SCHOOL TEACHERS

Their decision to take the movement up a notch comes a day after the finance minister said such protests will get them nothing.

The clamour for nationalization has gotten louder with private school teachers, who are enlisted under the government’s Monthly Pay Order (MPO), joining Ebtedayee madrasa teachers in their demonstration.

Following their ultimatum to the government given earlier, private school teachers started their fast unto death in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka on Monday as their demand for nationalization was not met by Sunday.

They have been holding a sit-in protest there since January 10, led by Private Education Nationalization Liaison Forum – a collective front for various teachers’ organizations and associations.

Joint convener of the forum Motiur Rahman Dulal said their hunger strike would continue until their demands were met. “There is no alternative to nationalization of education system for helping the students grow up as good citizens and ending the wage discrimination among teachers.

“We believe the prime minister will hear our demand and nationalize the education system,” said Dulal, who is also an assistant teacher at Khilgaon Model School.

However, their decision to take the demonstration up a notch came a day after Finance Minister AMA Muhith said no matter how many demonstrations teachers of state-run primary schools, private schools and Ebtadayee madrasas staged to realize their demands of pay scale upgrade, MPO enlistment and nationalization, they will not receive anything.

“They [the teachers] are free to do as many demonstrations as they want. They won’t get anything,” he said on Sunday.