Police stopped a long march by independent Ibtedayee madrasa teachers who were heading toward the Secretariat to press their demand for inclusion in the government’s Monthly Pay Order (MPO) scheme.
The teachers began the long march toward the Secretariat from in front of the Press Club on Sunday morning (June 14) after putting on burial shrouds. They were met with police resistance.
Teachers of grant-receiving independent Ibtedayee madrasas began a hunger strike on Sunday morning under the banner of the Independent Ibtedayee Madrasa Teachers’ Welfare Committee.
The programme was chaired by the organisation’s convener, Maulana Shamsul Haque Ansari, and conducted by member-secretary Hafez Maulana Mufti Abdul Hannan Hosen. Also present were the organisation’s coordinator Maulana Sheikh Nazrul Islam Mahbub, Md. Golam Azam, Maulana Abdur Rahman Shahjahan, the teachers’ council president Md. Nurunnabi and secretary-general Md. Shamsul Alam, among others.
The protesting teacher leaders said that, in line with the 2025 policy issued under a public notice from the Education Ministry’s technical and madrasa education division, MPO applications were submitted between July 3 and July 10. But although nearly 10 months have passed, no independent Ibtedayee madrasa has yet been brought under the MPO. “We will continue the hunger strike until our demand is met,” they said.
The madrasa teacher leaders alleged that, although the Education Ministry has given final approval for the release of salaries for teachers appointed to vacant posts, the Directorate of Madrasa Education has still not released the salary of any teacher. As a result, about 1,690 teachers have long been living in inhuman conditions without pay or allowances, they said.
The teacher leaders further said that primary-level Aliya madrasa education was approved under a 1978 ordinance, and that in 1984 the Bangladesh Madrasa Education Board granted recognition to independent Ibtedayee madrasas. Allowances for the teachers of these madrasas began in 1994, and from 2001 free textbooks and stipends were introduced for students.
The teachers said that although the government nationalised 26,019 registered primary schools in 2013, not a single independent Ibtedayee madrasa was nationalised or brought under the MPO. As a result, teachers at these institutions have long been deprived of job security and financial benefits.
The Independent Ibtedayee Madrasa Teachers’ Welfare Committee strongly demanded the swift implementation of the MPO and the immediate release of grants for the period from January to May 2026 for teachers who have received final approval. The protesters declared that, until their demands are met, they would continue a range of programmes including a continuous sit-in and hunger strike in front of the National Press Club.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report