Teachers from around 5,000 non-government primary schools began an indefinite sit-in outside the National Press Club in Dhaka on Sunday, demanding the immediate nationalisation of their institutions.
More than 100 teachers from Dhaka and districts across the country joined the programme under the banner of the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Besarkari Prathomik Shikkhok Oikkajot.
The protesters demanded the swift implementation of the recommendations made by a government-appointed Consultation Committee and vowed to continue their movement until a gazette notification on nationalisation was issued.
According to the teachers, the government announced the nationalisation of 26,193 non-government primary schools on 9 January 2013. However, around 5,000 schools were excluded from the final gazette published in May that year.
They said they had been campaigning for more than a decade for the excluded schools to be brought under government management.
On 28 February 2025, the Consultation Committee submitted a recommendation to the government calling for the nationalisation of the remaining schools. The teachers said the current protest was aimed at securing the immediate implementation of that recommendation.
“We have faced neglect and discrimination for a long time. Why should we continue to suffer on the streets?” said Ashraful Alam, one of the protesting teachers.
“The schools should be nationalised immediately so that we can teach with dignity. Our living standards have deteriorated severely, and our backs are against the wall. We simply want to provide basic food for our families,” he said.
Another teacher, Odud Hossain, said they had been protesting for 14 years without any result.
“We have jobs but receive no salaries. Before the election, leaders of the ruling party assured us that we would not have to return to the Press Club. All we want is a government notification nationalising the schools,” he said.
Ruama Sultana, a teacher from Dohar-Nawabganj, said the protesters had only one demand.
“The government must nationalise the schools without delay. Otherwise, our indefinite programme will continue,” she said.
Abdul Alim, a teacher from Netrokona, said years of unpaid service had damaged the teachers’ dignity and left them unable to support their families.
“Our social standing has fallen below that of a rickshaw puller in Dhaka. We cannot meet our families’ needs,” he said.
“When we return home after protesting at the Press Club, people ask about our schools. We have to lower our heads in shame. We cannot proudly say that we are teachers. We are living like the living dead,” he added.
The teachers staged an 18-day sit-in outside the National Press Club in 2018 and a 56-day hunger strike and sit-in in 2019.
They also held a series of demonstrations from September 2024 and at different times throughout 2025.
