Teachers and employees of non-government MPO-listed educational institutions have called off their ongoing protest following a government decision to increase house rent allowance by 15% of their basic salary.
The protesting teachers announced their return to classrooms starting Wednesday and pledged to hold additional classes on Saturdays to compensate for the academic disruption caused during the demonstrations.
According to a circular issued by the Finance Division on Tuesday, the tenth day of the movement, the house rent hike will be implemented in two phases.
Starting November this year, 7.5% of the allowance (with a minimum of Tk 2,000) will be disbursed, while the remaining 7.5% will be effective from 1 July, 2026.
The movement, which began on 12 October under the banner of the “Alliance for Nationalisation of MPO-listed educational institutions,” was initiated to press three key demands including a 20% house rent allowance based on basic salary, an increase in medical allowance from Tk 500 to Tk 1,500, and raising the festival bonus from 50% to 75% of basic salary for MPO-listed employees.
While the Finance Division approved only the house rent hike, the medical and festival allowances remain unchanged.
On Tuesday morning, representatives of the protesting teachers and employees held a meeting at the Secretariat with Education Adviser Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar and other officials. Around 12:45pm, the Education Adviser Rafiqul Abrar handed over the Finance Division’s formal approval letter to Delwar Hossain Azizi, member secretary of the alliance.
Expressing gratitude to the interim government and all stakeholders, Delwar Hossain Azizi announced their return to classrooms from Wednesday.
He also acknowledged the academic disruption caused by the protest and committed to holding classes on Saturdays until the annual examinations to cover the syllabus.
“We’re returning to class from tomorrow. Though we were unable to teach during the protest, we feel most fulfilled in the classroom,” said Delwar Hossain Azizi. “We’ve decided to hold classes every Saturday until the final exams to make up for lost time.”
He termed the outcome of the movement a “major victory” and extended thanks to all political parties for their support. He also urged the education authorities to reconsider increasing the festival allowance to 75% of basic salary and to introduce a teacher transfer policy for MPO-listed educators.
