Abuzz with teachers' agitation

The new academic session began amid continuous street agitations of teachers.

After hunger strikes enforced by the assistant primary and non-MPO teachers and an ongoing one by ebtedai madrasa teachers, a newly formed alliance of pro-government teachers and employees announced a series of programmes demanding “nationalisation of the education system”.

Shadhinota Shikkhak Karmachari Federation, the biggest platform of 16 organisations of teachers and employees, yesterday said they will hold various programmes including campaigns, human chains, and submit memorandums to press home their demand.

At a press conference in the capital's Jatiya Press Club yesterday, the leaders of the federation said they will not hold any programme in February because of the SSC examinations, which will begin on February 1.

Shahjahan Alam Saju, chief coordinator of the alliance, said apart from nationalisation of the education system, they want Baishakh and festival allowances.

Later talking to The Daily Star, he said, “What we meant by nationalisation is that the government will take responsibility of the entire education system, the way it does with the primary education.”

In Bangladesh, 98 percent secondary and higher secondary educational institutions are privately managed and there are numerous problems like influence of school managing committees, standard of education, lack of quality teachers and their poor salaries, he said.

“If we want an end of it, there is no alternative to nationalising the system,” said Shahjahan, also the general secretary of Swadhinota Shikkhak Parishad.

“Once nationalised, the government will gain income and become the owner of assets of the educational institutions. In return, the government will give salaries of all the teachers,” he said.

It will eventually help stop the teachers getting involved in private tuitions or coaching, he added.

The teachers and employees of the federation will launch a four-day campaign at schools, colleges, madrasas and technical institutions across the country on Sunday. They will also form human chains at all upazila levels on January 21.

The federation will launch a four-day campaign at schools, colleges, madrasas and technical institutions across the country on Sunday. They will also form human chains in all upazilas on January 21.

On January 25, they will form human chains in all districts and submit a memorandum to the prime minister through the deputy commissioners. The federation will hold a national meeting of the representatives on March 3, where the leaders will announce their next course of action, said Shahjahan.

Meanwhile, teachers of MPO-listed institutions, who started a sit-in on Wednesday in front of Jatiya Press Club, announced that they would continue their agitation until their one-point demand of nationalising private education is met.

The teachers are staging the agitation under the banner of Besharkari Shikkha Jatiyakaran Liaison Forum, a platform of five teachers' organisations.

At a rally yesterday, the teachers said although the teachers are dubbed as the architect of building a nation, they are the most deprived section in the society.

Nazrul Islam Rony, one of the leaders of the forum, said they will continue the sit-in till Saturday. If no announcement on their demand is made before that, they would go for a hunger strike.

MADRASA TEACHERS' HUNGER STRIKE CONTINUES

The teachers of independent ebtedai madrasas continued their indefinite hunger strike for the third consecutive day yesterday in front of Jatiya Press Club.

At least 74 teachers fell ill and five of them were hospitalised yesterday, Qazi Ruhul Amin Chowdhury, president of the organisation leading the demonstration, told The Daily Star last night.

He said the teachers were suffering in the biting cold, but none from the government contacted them yet. “We will not return home until our demand is met,” said Ruhul Amin.

Around 48,000 teachers of around 10,000 madrasas teach students from class-I to class-V.

Registered under the Madrasa Education Board in 1984, some 6,776 teachers of 1,519 madrasas started getting Tk 500 as allowances for each teacher.

Later in 2013, the government elevated the amount of those teachers to Tk 1,000.

In 2016-17 fiscal year, the government increased the allowances of headteachers to Tk 2,500 and assistant headteachers to Tk 2,300 from Tk 1,000.

But the rest of the teachers have not been paid any allowance whatsoever from the government since 1984, said the teachers.