The government cancelled the two-week long summer vacation for secondary schools and colleges across the country to spoil their movement for nationalising secondary private educational institutions, alleged a group of teachers yesterday.

Teachers of privately-run secondary educational institutions have been staging sit-in in front of Jatiya Press Club since July 11, demanding the nationalisation of their institutions.

Mentionable, the education ministry on Wednesday declared to cancel the vacation saying the decision was taken to recover the possible "learning loss" of students due to the next parliamentary polls.

Minister Dipu Moni also told reporters that nationalising private educational institutions before the upcoming parliamentary elections would not be possible.

However, while talking to The Daily Star yesterday, Sheikh Kawsar Ahmed, general secretary of Bangladesh Teachers Association, said they strongly reject the government decision.

The decision was made just a few hours before the scheduled vacation. Besides, almost all the teachers, students and their guardians made plans during the vacation.

"But the sudden decision was taken just to create pressure on us. It's not acceptable," he added.

Amid the continuous movement, teacher leaders met the director general of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher education, and the education minister.

But none of these meetings were fruitful, said the agitating teachers.

So in response to the meetings and to press home their demand to nationalise educational institutions, they decided to continue their movement, Kawsar Ahmed told The Daily Star.

Visiting the spot, this correspondent saw hundreds of teachers sitting on the road in front of the press club.

Khairul Islam, a teacher from Pabna, said, "Everyone talks about respecting the teachers. But do they know how much money we get through teaching and how we run our livelihood, with that little money?"

"I was supposed to teach students in classrooms. Instead, I am forced to stand here and protest for a handful of money. Is this how you respect a teacher?" he questioned.

Prabir Das, a teacher from Feni, said, "We would not go back to classrooms until our demands are met. We want the prime minister's intervention in this regard."