Call for nationalisation of jobs in non-govt instts 

The government may need to spend an additional Tk 700 crore annually to nationalise the jobs of teachers and employees at non-government educational institutions, the Teachers’ Employees’ Unity Alliance has claimed.

According to the organisation, the estimated annual expenditure on nationalisation would be Tk 26,373 crore. However, it expects to generate around Tk 8,400 crore annually from students’ tuition fees, session charges, institutional assets, interest on savings and reserve funds.

The figures were presented by the organisation’s president, Md Selim Bhuiyan MP, who also chairs the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Education, at a press conference at the National Press Club in the capital on Tuesday.

The organisation claims that non-government educational institutions are responsible for providing nearly 97 per cent of the country’s education. Despite their significant contribution, teachers and employees at these institutions face disparities in salary structures, job security and other employment benefits.

Addressing the press conference, Selim Bhuiyan said nationalisation was necessary to ensure financial security, social dignity and equal employment opportunities for teachers and employees.

He said the proposed nationalisation would involve expenditure on salaries, medical allowances, house rent, festival bonuses and Bengali New Year allowances. However, income from educational institutions and other sources could help offset a significant portion of the costs, reducing the government’s additional financial burden, he added.

The alliance also called for the immediate implementation of the ninth national pay scale for teachers and employees.

Selim Bhuiyan said teachers and employees were brought under the national pay structure in 1980 when then-president Ziaur Rahman introduced a provision for paying them 50 per cent of their salaries. However, despite subsequent revisions to the national pay scales, teachers and employees had not received the benefits they expected.

He said the Ministry of Education had sent a letter to the Ministry of Finance seeking an allocation of approximately Tk 676.90 crore for implementing the ninth pay scale.

The organisation also demanded the swift inclusion of non-MPO educational institutions under the Monthly Pay Order (MPO) system. Its leaders said teachers and employees at these institutions had been working for years without regular salaries and were facing severe financial hardship.

Other demands include raising the retirement age to 65, providing full festival bonuses, ensuring house rent allowances in line with government employees’ provisions and expediting transfers for teachers seeking relocation.

The alliance placed a total of eight demands, including nationalisation of jobs at non-government educational institutions, implementation of the ninth national pay scale and MPO inclusion of non-MPO institutions.