Local Government State Minister Mir Shahe Alam has backtracked on his earlier position, saying Monthly Pay Order (MPO)-listed teachers face no barrier to contesting in local government elections.
 
The minister told a teachers' conference in Dhaka on Thursday that nothing in law or policy blocks their candidacy until private institutions are nationalised.
 
On Sept 13, Alam had told journalists at the Secretariat that the local government law bars anyone holding a profitable full-time post in the republic, a council or any other local authority from contesting.
 
Rule 11.17 (Ka) and (Kha) of the Private School and College Manpower Structure and MPO Policy 2025 treats teachers' posts as profitable, he had said, so the law and the education ministry's policy align.
 
He had also said an MPO-listed teacher cannot hold multiple posts or any financially profitable position.
 
The policy defines such a post to cover government pay and allowances, plus any earnings from private institutions, organisations, universities or legal practice.
 
Alam had left the final call to the Election Commission, which sets the rules and decides candidates' eligibility under the local government law and the MPO policy.
 
Reversing that on Thursday, he said nationalisation of private institutions' teachers and employees will happen sooner or later, in the interest of teachers' dignity and living standards.
 
He credited every rise in teachers' pay, allowances, pensions and status in Bangladesh's history to Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia, and voiced hope that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman would carry that forward by meeting the demand.
 
“Nationalisation will require an additional Tk 7 billion to Tk 8 billion a year,” Alam said.
 
He urged teachers to organise a disciplined, large-scale national rally and send a message to the prime minister through peaceful and democratic means, saying the government would understand the importance of their demand.
 
Alam said the government had been in office for only seven months and was working to revive the education sector after being elected through a free and fair election following a long movement.
 
Despite financial constraints, the state minister said, the government had already created a Tk 20 billion special fund to provide benefits to around 100,000 teachers who retired between 2022 and 2026.
 
The education ministry would also provide financial grants to educational institutions to install 5.5-kilowatt solar power generation panels on their roofs, he said.
 
The systems would ensure uninterrupted electricity, while institutions could sell electricity generated during holidays and off-hours to the national grid and earn Tk 5,000 to Tk 10,000 a month, he said.
 
Speaking about teachers’ social status, Alam said: “Teaching is the only profession that gives birth to every other profession. Teachers are a driving force of society and messengers of democracy.”
 
He called for “collective resistance against any propaganda that undermines teachers’ dignity in society and the state”.