Teachers of MPO-listed non-government schools, colleges and madrasas  yesterday continued their protest for the eighth consecutive day, rejecting the government's decision to grant a five percent house rent allowance, or a minimum of Tk 2,000 per month.

They said the new allowance was "a mockery", and warned that they would intensify their movement if their demands were not met.

Earlier in the day, the finance ministry issued a circular approving the new house rent structure, which will take effect on November 1. It clarified that no arrears would be paid under the revised system.

According to the circular, the rate was set considering the existing fiscal constraints. It also stated that the house rent allowance would be automatically adjusted in the future in line with any national pay scale revisions, and that payments must be made strictly in line with MPO rules and relevant government gazettes.

The announcement came while thousands of teachers and employees were continuing their sit-in at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka.

"Our initial victory is that the government responded. But we reject it [the response]. We'll continue our protest, work abstention and hunger strike until our demands for 20 percent house rent, Tk 1,500 medical allowance, and 75 percent festival allowance are met," Delwar Hossain Azizi, member secretary of the MPO Nationalisation Expectant Alliance -- the platform leading the protest, told The Daily Star.

Meanwhile, Education Adviser CR Abrar expressed hope that the protesting teachers would accept the new house rent and return to classrooms. "We believe that the teaching community deserves much more. However, due to the current limitations, the decision that has been made comes with an allocation from the finance ministry."

Rejecting the decision, the teachers in the afternoon brought out their pre-scheduled "hunger march", which started from the Central Shaheed Minar and was blocked by police near Shikkha Bhaban.

Many teachers were seen carrying bowls in their hands. They chanted slogans like "accept our logical demands" and "we want 20 percent house rent" before returning to the Shaheed Minar again around 4:30pm.

After the government circular was issued, a delegation of teachers, led by Azizi, went to meet BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at the party chairperson's Gulshan office.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, Azizi said that Fakhrul assured them of prioritising the nationalisation of MPO-listed educational institutions if his party returned to power, reports UNB. He added that the BNP leader not only gave them hope but also showed genuine interest in the issue.

Azizi further said the delegation even proposed that they would address other demands later if the government at least raised the house rent allowance by 20 percent now.

At the entry level, MPO-listed teachers now receive a monthly salary of Tk 12,500, including Tk 1,000 as house rent, Tk 500 as medical allowance, and 50 percent of their basic pay as festival allowance.

In September, the finance ministry approved a Tk 500 rise in the house rent allowance, which the teachers rejected, calling it "insufficient".

On October 12, teachers across the country joined a protest in front of the Jatiya Press Club. Police used water cannons, sound grenades, and batons to disperse them.

They then moved to Shaheed Minar, where they protested the police action and announced a countrywide work abstention from the following day.

Currently, there are over 26,000 MPO-listed non-government institutions in the country, with around 3.8 lakh teachers and 1.7 lakh staff members.