Private teachers enrolled in the MPO received the right to receive a 25% bonus in 2004, which will continue until 2021. In the past few days, the teachers’ organizations have informed the Hon’ble Prime Minister, including the Ministry of Education and Finance, about the increase in the festival allowance, which has not implemented yet. Teachers and employees of MPO-affiliated schools, colleges, madrasas and technical colleges expect 100% bonus in this Eid but they have not been given 100% bonus before Eid-ul-Fitr.
On the day of Eid-ul-Fitr, the leaders of 10 organizations of the educational institutions performed prayers and human chain program in front of the National Press Club. However, as the police prevented them from offering prayers in front of the press club,they offering Eid prayers in the mosque of Shiksha Bhaban and the teachers observed a human chain program in front of the press club. Jasim Uddin Ahmed, Secretary General of Bangladesh Teachers Association and Convener of “100% Festival Allowance Implementation Committee” said in his speech, “As we protested in front of this press club in 2016, the Prime Minister gave 5% increase and 20% Boishakhi allowance to MPO teachers.
At present, the government spends about 22/23 thousands corers taka to pay the salaries and allowances of MPO-registered teachers. Even then, Jasim Uddin Ahmed proposed to solve the shortage of funds by the government. Even then, if there is a problem in this case, if the government charges Tk. 200 per student from the session fee and Tk. 50 per student from the examination fee at the time of admission every year, there is no chance of any financial loss to the government.
Bangabandhu nationalized 36,000 primary schools in 1973 with his budget of Tk 6 crore and increased the salaries of private teachers. And now it cannot be accepted that the bonus of teachers in the budget of 5 lakh 93 thousand crore is not 100%. Therefore, the teachers demanded that by increasing the budget in the education sector in the financial year 2021-22, 100% bonus should be given to the MPO registered teachers before the next Eid-ul-Azha. If not, teachers warn the government that the big movement will be announced after budget.
The government passed the National Education Policy-2010 in the National Assembly in 2010, which said that inequality in public and private education will be gradually reduced, but the extent to which the current government has reduced inequality during its 12 years in power is now under review.
Meanwhile, the ILO, UNESCO and the United Nations have called on the government to increase the budget for education in Bangladesh. Leaders from each ten organization spoke on the occasion. The program was conducted by Muhammad Delwar Hossain Azizi, Member Secretary of 100% Festival Allowance Implementation Committee and President of Bangladesh Madrasa Teachers-Employees Forum.
Also speaking on the occasion, Sheikh Mohammad Jasim Uddin, Vice Pricipal Abdur Rahman, Zafar Ullah, Yusuf Ali Mia Shamim, Mohammad Mostafa Bhuiyan, Abul Bashar Nadim, Sahidul Islam, Mohammad Matiur Rahman Dulal, Mamunur Rashid, H. M Rabiul Islam, Prof. Harun-Rashid Hawlader, Atiqul Islam, Ismail Hossain, Farid Ahmed, Mostafa Kamal, Nazmul Hasan, Ruhul Amin Sarkar, SM Mahib Ullah Mujahid, Abu Bakar Siddique, Mostafizur Rahman, Ratan Kumar Debnath, Maolana Abdul Ahad, Ahidul Islam, Abdur Rahman, Mohammad Mohsin and others.
