No bar for private teachers to participate in local government elections: Mir Shahe Alam

He said this while speaking as a special guest at a conference organized by the Teachers-Employees Unity Alliance at the Engineers Institution auditorium in Ramna, Dhaka, on Thursday (October 8) morning.

Expressing support for the demand to nationalize teachers, the state minister said that nationalizing the teachers and employees of private educational institutions is necessary in the interest of improving teachers' status and quality of life. He expressed hope that this demand could be realized during the current government's tenure.

Announcing the initiative to use solar power in educational institutions, he said financial assistance will be provided to install 5.5-kilowatt solar panels on the roof of each institution. This will not only meet the institution's electricity demand, but by selling surplus electricity to the national grid, it will also be possible to earn Tk 5,000 to Tk 10,000 per month.

The state minister said a special fund of Tk 2,000 crore has been formed to pay the allowances of nearly one lakh teachers who will retire from 2022 to 2026. He also mentioned that an additional Tk 700 to 800 crore will be required annually for nationalization.

Addressing teachers, he advised them to organize a disciplined and large-scale national rally demanding nationalization and to place their demand before the government through democratic means.

Mir Shahe Alam further said that teachers are one of the main driving forces of society and messengers of democracy. He called on everyone to unite against propaganda that undermines the social dignity of teachers.

Lawmaker and teachers' leader Principal Md. Selim Bhuiyan, General Secretary of the Teachers-Employees Unity Alliance Chowdhury Mugis Uddin Mahmud, General Secretary of Bangladesh Teachers' Association Md. Zakir Hossain, and other teachers' leaders were present at the conference.