Bangladesh teachers march for higher pay

DHAKA, May 31 (Reuters) Thousands of Bangladeshi private school teachers marched through the capital today, demanding wages to match those of government-run schools, the latest in a series of protests to hit normal life in the country.

The primary school teachers, many dressed in white as a mark of protest, launched a 10-day street campaign in Dhaka to force the government to honour an election promise to bring them on par with those in government schools.

''We are dying, our children are half fed,'' the teachers who have gathered from around the country said.

The highest monthly salary of a non-government primary teacher is around 2,000 taka, around 40 per cent less than a colleague in a government school.

Some private schools don't even pay wages on time, the protesters said. The campaign has been launched by the Non-government Primary Teachers Association which represents 100,000 members from 20,000 primary schools.

Another group of teachers from privately run Islamic schools staged a separate demonstration in Dhaka demanding they be put on government rolls.

There are some 16,000 private Islami Quami madrasas in the country, in addition to government-run religious schools.

Bangladesh has been hit by a wave of protests, some led by opposition parties demanding electoral reforms, and others over shortage of electricity and water.

REUTERS SHB PM1546