MPO Teachers Announce 10-Point Program, Demand Pay Scale and Nationalisation

The Combined Forum of Teachers, Employees, Job Nationalization Alliance, and Retired Teachers and Employees has announced a fresh series of programs pressing home a 10-point demand. These core demands include the inclusion of MPO-enlisted teachers and employees in the 9th national pay scale and the nationalization of their jobs. The announcement was made during a press conference held at the Abdus Salam Hall of the National Press Club on Wednesday, August 12.

The 10-point charter of demands features several structural reforms for the education sector. Key points include disbursing MPO funds according to established rules and regulations, eliminating discrimination by nationalizing private jobs, introducing a streamlined transfer system, providing 100 percent festival allowances, and granting house rent as per government regulations.

Additional demands call for replacing the NTRCA with a dedicated PSC-2 for recruitment, bringing recognized un-MPO institutions under the MPO scheme, arranging recruitment for teachers from the 1st to 12th registration batches, raising the retirement age to 65, ensuring proper leave rules for night guards, and appointing secondary night guards.

The coalition has issued an ultimatum warning that if these ten demands are not met by August 31, a strict three-tier action program will be enforced. First, the Ministry of Education must arrange a meeting between a ten-member delegation of teacher representatives and the Prime Minister within the next ten days. Second, divisional rallies will be organized across September and October 2026 to build strong public support. Third, broader nationwide movements will be launched by forming non-political struggle committees comprising educators from all backgrounds.

During the press conference, Chief Advisor Jasim Uddin Ahmed delivered a written speech criticizing recent decisions made by the Ministry of Education and the welfare-retirement boards. He alleged that authorities are violating rules by planning to provide flat lump-sum payouts of 2.5 lakh BDT from the welfare trust and 5 lakh BDT from the retirement board to 44,000 applicants. He contrasted this with historical norms where retired personnel received financial dues equivalent to their final 25 months' salary from the welfare trust and 75 months' salary from the retirement board, questioning the justification for the sudden reduction.

Ahmed further expressed concern that retired teachers might only receive their deposited savings back, creating the impression that the ministry is pursuing a subtle strategy to create friction between teachers and the administration. He noted that while past administrations introduced provisions for MPO educators, bureaucratic complexities have left teachers struggling even 56 years after independence.

He acknowledged that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman allocated 2 percent of GDP for overall educational development in the 2026-27 fiscal year with assurances of reaching 5 percent within four years, alongside a recent 200 crore BDT allocation for teacher welfare. However, he claimed that certain bureaucratic factions are conspiring to undermine educators and spark conflicts with the government.

Concluding the written statement, teacher leaders emphasized that nationalizing MPO-enlisted education would eliminate disparities within the sector. They recalled that former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia had promised job nationalization at a teacher representative rally on May 12, 2010, and that the current Prime Minister gave similar assurances ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections.

Despite these promises, as the current government approaches the end of its first 180 days, the Ministry of Education has failed to take concrete steps toward nationalization and has yet to implement a previously announced 10 percent increase in festival allowances before Eid-ul-Azha.