Ebtedayee teachers go for hunger strike from today

Ebtedayee teachers are going to organise an indefinite hunger-strike from today onwards to realise a number of demands, including the nationalisation, like primary schools, of all registered Ebtedayee Madrasas under the Madrasa Education Board.

The general secretary of the Bangladesh Independent Ebtedayee Madrasa Teachers Association, Kazi Md Mokhlesur Rahman, told The Independent that they have decided to go in for an indefinite hunger-strike to realise their demands as the government has not responded to them.

“Since January 1, we have been organising sit-in programmes in front of the Jatiya Press Club to draw the attention of the government so that our demands are fulfilled. On Sunday, we submitted a memorandum to the state minister for education in this respect. Yet, no one has responded. So, we have decided to go in for a hunger-strike programme, starting 11am on Tuesday,” he added.

The Ebtedayee teachers said the government

had in 1994 fixed the salary of the Ebtedayee teachers at Tk. 500, as in the primary schools. Later, the education ministry upgraded the salary of 6,776 teachers of 1,519 Independent Ebtedayee Madrasas to Tk. 1,000 from Tk. 500 in 2013.

But in the 2016–17 fiscal year, the government upgraded the salary of primary teachers to Tk. 2,300 from Tk. 1,000 for the assistant teachers and to Tk. 2,500 for headmasters. But the Ebtedayee teachers have been deprived of these benefits, they complained.

The salaries of primary teachers have been increased in phases and the schools have undergone nationalisation, but the Ebtedayee teachers have been deprived of it, they added.

With no other option, the Ebtedayee teachers have been forced to hit the streets with a set of demands, which includes nationalisation of all Ebtedayee Madrasas like primary schools, approval of the separate 2015 policy for Ebtedayee madrasas, inclusion of those Madrasas that are out of code numbers from the Madrasa board and permanent registration for the Ebtedayee Madrasas like primary schools.

Mokhlesur Rahman said the importance of Independent Ebtedayee Madrasas is no less compared to primary schools in imparting education.

Earlier, on Sunday, education minister Nurul Islam Nahid had said at a programme, “The government has already increased the salary of the Ebtedayee teachers. We are not sitting idle. We have a crisis of resources, yet we are also working for the teachers.”

Ebtedayee teachers go for hunger strike from today

Ebtedayee teachers are going to organise an indefinite hunger-strike from today onwards to realise a number of demands, including the nationalisation, like primary schools, of all registered Ebtedayee Madrasas under the Madrasa Education Board. The general secretary of the Bangladesh Independent Ebtedayee Madrasa Teachers Association, Kazi Md Mokhlesur Rahman, told The Independent that they have decided to go in for an indefinite hunger-strike to realise their demands as the government has not responded to them. Since January 1, we have been organising sit-in programmes in front of the Jatiya Press Club to draw the attention of the government so that our demands are fulfilled. On Sunday, we submitted a memorandum to the state minister for education in this respect. Yet, no one has responded. So, we have decided to go in for a hunger-strike programme, starting 11am on Tuesday, he added. The Ebtedayee teachers said the government had in 1994 fixed the salary of the Ebtedayee teachers at Tk. 500, as in the primary schools. Later, the education ministry upgraded the salary of 6,776 teachers of 1,519 Independent Ebtedayee Madrasas to Tk. 1,000 from Tk. 500 in 2013. But in the 201617 fiscal year, the government upgraded the salary of primary teachers to Tk. 2,300 from Tk. 1,000 for the assistant teachers and to Tk. 2,500 for headmasters. But the Ebtedayee teachers have been deprived of these benefits, they complained. The salaries of primary teachers have been increased in phases and the schools have undergone nationalisation, but the Ebtedayee teachers have been deprived of it, they added. With no other option, the Ebtedayee teachers have been forced to hit the streets with a set of demands, which includes nationalisation of all Ebtedayee Madrasas like primary schools, approval of the separate 2015 policy for Ebtedayee madrasas, inclusion of those Madrasas that are out of code numbers from the Madrasa board and permanent registration for the Ebtedayee Madrasas like primary schools. Mokhlesur Rahman said the importance of Independent Ebtedayee Madrasas is no less compared to primary schools in imparting education. Earlier, on Sunday, education minister Nurul Islam Nahid had said at a programme, The government has already increased the salary of the Ebtedayee teachers. We are not sitting idle. We have a crisis of resources, yet we are also working for the teachers.