Education ministry still undecided

Leader of SKOJ, Shariful Islam, sent letters to the Education Minister Osman Farruk, State Minister for Education Ehsanul Haq Milon, Education Secretary Montazul Islam and Political Secretary to the Prime Minister Harris Chowdhury on Wednesday inviting them to join a discussion at Mohammadpur Central University College on July 30.

SKOJ leader Prof Mazharul Hannan said that the education ministry received their letters but did not reply yet.

"We sent invitation letters to these four responsible figures of the government as they did not arrange a dialogue with us even after the prime minister instructed them to do so nine days ago," Hannan told the Daily Star yesterday adding that they also sent invitation letters to all groups of teachers.

Earlier, on July 17, the prime minister called Osman Farruk, Milon, Montazul and Harris Chowdhury to her office and asked them to solve issues with teachers through dialogue.

The striking teachers of SKOJ yesterday observed a two-hour sit-in programme at Muktangon in the capital demanding salary raise. Afterwards, they brought out a procession and marched through different streets of the capital.

Meanwhile, the National Front of Teachers and Employees (NFTE) has declared a series of month-long programmes including roads and waterways blockade in the districts on August 1, grand sit-in programme in Dhaka on August 22 and a half-day hartal in Dhaka on August 23 to press home their demand of cent per cent salary from the government exchequer.

Teachers and employees of non-government high schools, colleges and madrasas under four organisations have been on indefinite strike since July 6.