Private college honors and master’s level teachers plan to resume their movement after Eid-ul-Fitr, as their demands for Monthly Pay Order (MPO) enlistment remain unmet despite previously suspending protests due to police repression and appealing to the interim government.
The teachers last started protests in October, but following police crackdowns, many fell ill and had to later abandon the demonstrations.
The demand for MPO enlistment of approximately 5,500 teachers from 315 private colleges has been longstanding.
Despite raising the issue with successive governments for the past 32 years, they have not been included in the official workforce structure, leaving them ineligible for MPO benefits.
After the fall of the previous Awami League government on August 5, the teachers staged continuous protests in front of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) from October 15 to 17.
However, on the second and third days of the protests, police dispersed them using batons, water cannons, and sound grenades, injuring several teachers, including female teachers and their young children.
Nekbar Hossain, president of the Private College Honors-Master’s Teachers’ Federation, said: “During our protests last October, government representatives in meetings at the ministry made promises that failed to reassure the teachers. Still, we waited. Several demands have been met for teachers and others following movements. The police oppressed us, yet no action has been taken against them to this day.
"If we do not receive confirmation of MPO enlistment before the upcoming budget, we will announce and carry out strict protest programs after Eid. If necessary, we will go on a hunger strike unto death.”
The federation’s senior vice president, Harun-or-Rashid, said: “We protested in front of the DSHE in October. We were the first to raise this demand, yet while others’ demands have been fulfilled, ours remain ignored. We refrained from further protests to support the government, but there has been no visible progress in addressing our concerns. If our demands are not met, we will resume our movement.”
According to sources in the Ministry of Education, initiatives were taken in 2018 to amend the Non-Government Educational Institution (School and College) Workforce Structure and MPO Policy.
Despite multiple meetings, the issue of MPO enlistment for honors-master’s level teachers remained unresolved, they said.
The teachers claim that in 2020, former education minister Dr Dipu Moni assured them that honors-master’s level teachers, who have been deprived for 32 years, would be included in the workforce structure.
However, the Ministry of Finance did not approve the necessary budget allocation for MPO enlistment, leaving these teachers to work without salaries, they added.
According to relevant sources, in 1993, the National University approved the introduction of honors-master’s programs in MPO-enlisted colleges that offered degree-level education.
Colleges obtained approval for these programs under the condition that teachers would receive salaries per the prescribed scale.
The National University directed these institutions to pay teachers from student tuition fees. As a result, honors and master’s level teachers were not included in the official workforce structure of private colleges, preventing them from gaining MPO benefits.
This issue has remained unresolved for over 31 years.
