Dhaka, Oct 16 (V7N) — Responding to the demands of protesting teachers and staff of private educational institutions under the Monthly Pay Order (MPO) system, Education Advisor Professor CR Abrar stated that due to financial constraints, the government cannot increase the house rent allowance (HRA) by more than 5 percent.

The advisor made the remarks after meeting a delegation of protesting teachers at the Secretariat on Thursday afternoon. He emphasized that the government does not want to make promises that cannot be implemented. If teachers agree, the 5% HRA increase will take effect from November 1.

Earlier, the delegation, including Delwar Hossain Azizi, member secretary of the MPO-affiliated Education Nationalization Alliance, expressed dissatisfaction with the meeting, calling the discussions unproductive. They stated that their peaceful protest will continue.

The teachers’ main demands include:

20% house rent allowance of the basic salary for MPO-listed teachers

Medical allowance of Tk 1,500

75% festival allowance for staff

The government’s offer addresses only a portion of their demands, leaving the protest unresolved for now.