Protest suspended as teachers to return to classes from Wednesday

The ongoing protest by MPO-listed teachers and staff of non-government educational institutions has been suspended after the government decided to increase their house rent allowance to 15% of the basic salary in two phases.

Welcoming the decision, Delwar Hossain Azizi, president of the MPO-listed Education Nationalization Alliance and member secretary of the Bangladesh Madrasa Teachers-Employees Forum, announced that teachers would return to classrooms starting Wednesday.

The announcement came on Tuesday after Education Adviser Prof Dr Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar handed over the Finance Division’s consent letter to teacher representatives at the Ministry of Education.

“We thank the education adviser on behalf of the entire teaching community. From tomorrow, we will resume classes and make up for the learning losses caused by the protest,” Azizi said.

He also said he would brief the media at the Shaheed Minar in the afternoon.

While handing over the consent letter, the education adviser said: “The house rent allowance will be increased by 7.5% from November 2025 and another 7.5% from July 2026. It was decided after detailed discussions. This is a significant achievement for the sector.”

He expressed hope that future governments would uphold this initiative and that teachers would now return to their professional duties.

The agreement came after 10 days of protests demanding:

20% house rent allowance

An increase in medical allowance from Tk500 to Tk1,500

Festival allowance from 50% to 75% of the basic salary

In a letter issued by the Finance Division on Tuesday, it was stated that, considering the government’s current budgetary constraints, the house rent allowance for MPO-listed teachers and employees of non-government educational institutions has been set at 7.5% of their basic salary (with a minimum of Tk2,000) starting November 1, and an additional 7.5% (minimum Tk2,000) from July 2026—bringing the total to 15%.

The Finance Division’s approval letter also includes several conditions:

Must align with future national pay scales

MPO-listed teachers and employees must adhere to the recruitment conditions outlined in the Non-Government Educational Institutions (School and College) Manpower Structure and MPO Policy 2021, the Non-Government Educational Institutions (Madrasah) Manpower Structure and MPO Policy 2018 (amended up to November 23, 2020), and the Non-Government Educational Institutions (Vocational, Business Management, Agriculture, and Fisheries Diploma) Manpower Structure and MPO Policy 2018 (amended up to November 23, 2020)

All appointments and related procedures must comply with relevant government-issued gazettes, orders, circulars, and policies as issued

No arrears will be granted under the new allowance

Strict financial rules must be followed

Approving authorities will be held accountable for any irregularities

The previous circular (Memo No. 260, dated October 16, 2025) has been canceled, and the administrative ministry has been directed to issue a new government order and send four copies to the Finance Division for final approval.