Dhaka, Oct 19 (V7N) — Teachers and employees of private MPO-listed educational institutions have rejected the government’s decision to increase their house rent allowance by only 5 percent, announcing that they will continue their ongoing sit-in and hunger strike at the Central Shaheed Minar for the eighth consecutive day on Sunday (October 19) morning.

The protesters have declared a new program — a ‘hunger march’ towards the Education Ministry at noon today — to press their demands. They warned that the movement will continue indefinitely until the government issues an official notification accepting their three-point demand:

20 percent house rent allowance of the basic salary,

Tk 1,500 monthly medical allowance, and

75 percent festival allowance for staff.

Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry has approved a 5 percent increase in house rent allowance on Sunday morning, setting the minimum allowance at Tk 2,000.

However, the ministry attached several conditions to the approval:

The new allowance will be adjusted with the next national pay scale,

No arrears will be paid to MPO teachers or employees, and

All financial rules and regulations must be maintained in allowance disbursement.

Despite the partial concession, the protesting teachers have dismissed the offer as “eyewash”, saying it fails to address their real hardships amid rising living costs.