Online Desk: Secondary school teachers today started a hunger strike in front of the National Press Club in the capital demanding nationalisation of secondary education. They started the strike around 10:00am. They had earlier threatened a hunger strike if they were not allowed to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by July 31.

Sheikh Kawsar Ahmed, general secretary of Bangladesh Teachers’ Association, said, “We want to have a 5-minute meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Until then, we will continue the hunger strike. Even if it leads to death, we will not end the hunger strike,” he added.

On July 30 he told The Daily Star, “We have no other demand but meeting the PM. We believe that as soon as we can meet the PM, our demands for nationalisation will be met.”Thousands of teachers have been on a sit-in protest since July 11. They have already had two meetings — one with Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education and another with Education Minister Dipu Moni — to resolve the matter.

Dipu Moni, in a meeting with the teachers, said nationalising private educational institutions before the upcoming parliamentary elections would not be possible. She, however, declared formation of two committees to look into the issue. But the teachers termed the meetings “unfruitful” and continued their agitation demanding to meet the PM.