Dhaka, Oct. 12 -- MPO teachers and staff have announced that they will begin their nationwide strike a day early, starting Monday, demanding increased house rent and other allowances.

Delawar Hossain Azizi, secretary of the MPO Education Nationalisation Alliance, announced the plan during a sit-in at the Shaheed Minar on Monday.

The decision came in protest of a police crackdown on demonstrators. The strike will be accompanied by a continuous sit-in at Dhaka's central Shaheed Minar, organisers said on Sunday.

He said, "We will not return to classrooms until the government issues notifications for a 20 percent house rent increase, Tk 1,500 medical allowance, and 75 percent festival bonus.

"We condemn today's police attack. Several of o...