Ebtedayee madrasah teachers to be included in MPO scheme

The long-standing demand of Ebtedayee Madrasah teachers is finally being addressed. 

Reports indicates that the outgoing Education Advisor, Dr. Wahiduddin Mahmud, signed the proposal file for their inclusion on Wednesday.

According to sources in the Education Ministry, the teachers will be brought under the MPO scheme very soon.

In the first phase, over 6,000 teachers from 1,519 madrasas are set to be included in the Monthly Pay Order (MPO) scheme. 

Dr. Wahiduddin Mahmud stated, "Despite following the same curriculum as government primary schools, Ebtedayee teachers face severe discrimination. Steps have been taken to address this issue. There are many Ebtedayee madrasas in the country, some of which are informal. However, many institutions have proper registration. They teach subjects like Bengali, English, and Mathematics, similar to government primary schools. Despite having infrastructure and teachers, they were not included in the MPO scheme. I have taken steps to resolve this."

Dr. K.M. Kabirul Islam, Secretary of the Technical and Madrasa Education Division, said, "The outgoing advisor has signed the file. It will now be sent to the Chief Advisor for approval. Once approved, the teachers will be included in the MPO scheme very quickly." When asked how long the process might take, the Secretary added, "The Finance Ministry has assured us of releasing funds from this year's budget allocation. We are working to ensure that the teachers receive their salaries by May."

Sources indicate that while several initiatives were taken in the past to address this issue, none were implemented. This time, under the leadership of the new Secretary, efforts are being made to alleviate the teachers' grievances. A proposal to allocate Tk 16 crore from the 2024-25 fiscal year budget for these teachers has been sent to the Chief Advisor's office.