They announce a continuous sit-in in front of the National Press Club from Oct 12
The government has increased the house rent allowance for MPO-listed teachers by Tk 500, but they have rejected the move, announcing a protest instead.
The Finance Division issued a notification increasing the allowance from Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,500 on Sunday.
Rejecting this, the teachers demanded a 20 percent house rent allowance based on their basic salary and an increase in the medical allowance to Tk 1,500 from the current Tk 500.
They have also called for a continuous sit-in protest in front of the National Press Club starting on Oct 12.
Sharifunnessa, assistant secretary of the Finance Division's Regulatory Section, said: "A notification has been issued [on the rent allowance increase], and it has been sent to the Ministry of Education's Secondary and Higher Education Division, as well as the Technical and Madrasah Education Division."
The order, issued on Sept 30, indicates that the allowance will be implemented through an administrative order by the relevant ministries.
The order mentions that all financial procedures must be followed when disbursing this allowance.
It also warns that if any irregularities occur in the allowance expenditure in the future, the authority responsible for disbursement will be held accountable.
The increase in the house rent allowance comes after a proposal sent by the education advisor's office on Aug 7. MPO-listed teachers and staff receive their salaries based on the national pay scale. They also receive Tk 500 monthly medical allowances and, until now, Tk 1,000 in house rent allowance, which has now been raised by Tk 500.
Previously, MPO teachers received 25 percent of their basic salary as a yearly bonus, but after a recent revision in May, they now receive 50 percent of their basic salary as an annual festival allowance. Also, they are entitled to a 20 percent basic salary allowance once a year for the Bengali New Year.
On Aug 13, MPO teachers staged a sit-in in front of the National Press Club, demanding the nationalisation of the education system. Later, a 12-member delegation of teachers visited the Secretariat and met with Education Advisor Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar. The delegation demanded a minimum 20 percent house rent allowance for MPO-listed staff.
Delwar Hossain Azizi, general secretary of the Nationalisation of Education coalition leading the delegation, told bdnews24.com on Sunday afternoon: "We have rejected the Tk 500 house rent increase. MPO-listed teachers demand at least 20 percent of their basic salary as house rent.
"We also demand the medical allowance be increased to Tk 1,500 from Tk 500, and the festival allowance for MPO employees should rise from 50 percent to 75 percent of the basic salary."
He added, "As our demands have not been met, we have decided to begin our protest, as previously announced, from Oct 12 in front of the National Press Club."