Nationalisation: MPO teachers begin day-long class boycott

Teachers and employees of MPO-enlisted educational institutions, who are on a hunger strike, started their day-long boycott of classes since this morning at all their secondary and higher secondary institutions.

“We will refrain from taking part in any classes as well as all kinds of official activities in our respective institutions,” said Jasim Uddin, a convener of the forum.

Besarkari Shikkha Jatiyakaran Liaison Forum, a platform of six organisations of teachers and employees leading the movement, took the decision on January 19 as they did not get any response to the demand of nationalisation of their institutions from the prime minister.

Several hundred MPO-enlisted teachers began the indefinite hunger strike in front of the Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka on January 15 to press home their demand. Earlier, they staged a sit-in for five days since January 10.

Teachers from the MPO-enlisted schools and colleges started to come to the hunger strike boycotting their classes, said Jasim.

Jasim said that they continued the demonstration so far as a section of teachers came to the press club venue, another section of teachers took classes.

Meanwhile, with the demand of nationalisation, their strike rolled into the seventh day today. A total of 98 teachers have fallen ill till today while 35 of them were hospitalised.