Today at the Shahbagh intersection, assistant teacher Md. Ismail Hossain from Uttarkhan High School, Dhaka, joined the blockade program. He completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Rajshahi University and joined the school in September last year. His current total salary is Tk 18,300, of which Tk 16,000 is the basic pay and the rest are allowances. He receives no additional benefits from the school.

Ismail shares a rented room with two others, paying Tk 5,000 as his share of the Tk 15,000 rent. He said it’s becoming very hard to survive on his current salary. Several other teachers present added that salaries are slightly higher for subjects like agriculture, but for general subjects, the starting basic pay is only Tk 12,500.

To improve their living standards, teachers and employees of private institutions under the MPO (Monthly Pay Order) scheme have long been demanding nationalization of their institutions. Recently, they launched a continuous blockade program in front of the National Press Club from last Sunday, pressing for three demands, including an increase in house rent allowances.

A large number of teachers from across the country joined the movement. However, police dispersed the protest using batons, sound grenades, and water cannons. Later, the protesters regrouped and began a sit-in at the Central Shaheed Minar, where leaders of several political parties expressed solidarity. Yesterday, they attempted to march toward the Secretariat, but police blocked them near the High Court area. Today, they continued their protest at Shahbagh.

According to sources at the Ministry of Education, the advisor for education, Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar, had earlier reminded the Finance Advisor, Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, through an official note about a previous request made in February—to raise the house rent allowance from Tk 1,000 to Tk 2,000 and the medical allowance from Tk 500 to Tk 1,000. The proposal also mentioned the need to increase festival bonuses. The total additional cost for implementing these changes in the 2025–26 fiscal year was estimated at Tk 769.33 crore.

Later, the Education Ministry revised its stance and on October 5 sent another letter to the Finance Division, proposing a percentage-based increase in house rent. The letter outlined several options:

20% increase → Tk 3,400 crore needed

15% increase → Tk 2,439 crore needed

10% increase → Tk 1,769 crore needed

5% increase → Tk 1,371 crore needed

Meanwhile, the ongoing teacher blockade has caused severe traffic disruptions and difficulties for patients traveling to hospitals in the capital.