The police use chloropicrin-enriched pepper spray to contain protests of teachers rallying for MPO enlistment at Dhanmondi in the capital on Tuesday. — Sourav Laskar

Teachers and employees of secondary schools continued their strike and ‘fast-unto-death’ on Tuesday demanding enlistment of their institutions for the monthly pay order and nationalisation of their jobs.
A group of teachers teamed up as the Non-MPO Shikkha Pratishthan Shikkhak-Karmachari Oikya Jote, who have rallying in Dhaka for 10 days, went on strike for an indefinite period on January 10 and another group, Shikkhak-Karmachari Oikya Parishad went on indefinite strike on January 12 in non-government schools, colleges, madrassahs and technical education institutions.
The teacher leaders said that no classes were held in most of about 33,000 secondary schools on the day.
Oikya Jote leaders said that a teacher Sekandar Ali of Patuakhali, who was injured in pepper spray by the police on January 10 in Dhaka, died early Tuesday in Patuakhali.
New Age correspondent in Patuakhali reported that Sekander Ali, superintendent of Chargorabdee Islamia Dakhil Madrassah under Dumki upazila, died at about 4:00am.
Sekandar was sent to Patuakhali after being treated at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
The family said that he felt ill and he was rushed to Dumki Hospital, where he died at 4:00am.
David Rozario, the doctor on duty, said the reason of the death could only be established after autopsy.
In Dhaka, the police on Tuesday, for the seventh consecutive day, foiled the teachers’ rally.
The teachers took position on road at the city’s Sobhanbag, but the police dispersed them using pepper spray and water cannon injuring 15 teachers, said Oikya Jote vice-president Abul Kalam Azad.
Police picked up Abul Kalam of Noakhali and Nuh Islam of Rajshahi from the scenes. The two teachers were, however, released in the afternoon, Sher-E-Bangla Nagar police officer-in-charge Abdul Momin said.
Later the Oikya Jote began their continued ‘fast-unto-death’ in front of Teacher-Student Centre of Dhaka University.
Abul Kalam Azad said that they would hold a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity at 11:00am today.
The teachers said that around 7,000 educational institutions employing about one lakh teachers and employees were yet to be enlisted for the monthly pay order although most of them had fulfilled all the criteria.
Shikkhak-Karmachari Oikya Jote chairman Selim Bhuiyan said that most of the teachers and employees of 26,328 non-government schools, colleges and madrassahs enlisted for the monthly pay order observed strike on the day demanding nationalisation of their jobs.
He said that they would hold teachers’ rallies at the district and upazila level in January 16-20 to press home their demand.
Shikkhak Karmachari Oikya Parishad coordinator Ranjit Kumar Saha said that they were on strike to realise the demands, including job nationalisation.
He said they would hold teachers’ rally in front of the National Press Club in the capital and at district headquarters on January 17.