Non-govt teachers to go for hunger strike from Aug 1

Staff Reporter  :
Teachers from non-government educational institutions have threatened to go for an indefinite hunger strike from August 1 if their urge for meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina goes unanswered.

The announcement came on the 20th day of their ongoing sit-in programme in front of the Jatiya Press Club on Sunday.

“We want to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as we believe that all our demands will be met if we can meet her once.

We believe that we will get a call from you. We want to meet you for only five minutes,” General Secretary of Bangladesh Teachers Association Sheikh Kawsar Ahmed said.

“If we do not get any response, we will go for hunger strike from August 1,” he said.

Earlier, on 19th July, during the ongoing movement, Education Minister Dipu Moni had a meeting with the leaders of the teachers’ organisations.

She said that there is no possibility of making any decisions regarding nationalisation before the upcoming national elections.

However, two committees will be formed, one for nationalisation and overall welfare of education and teachers, and the other for financial matters.

These committees are expected to be formed by the end of August, she also said.

Meanwhile, the protesting teachers have not yet reached a consensus with the Education Minister on the issue of nationalisation.

The teachers said that they are giving their full efforts for the students, but they are deprived of many facilities which are enjoyed by the government teachers.

They said the overall progress in the education sector cannot be achieved by depriving the overwhelming majority of the non-government teachers.