With no salaries, the majority of teachers at private schools, colleges, and universities suffer in silence before Eid. This socially respected group cannot ask for help to the government or NGOs, not can stand in front of OMS or TCB truck for buying staples and kitchen essentials at a subsidised rate. They suffer most and consume the pain secretly when the government has no contingency plan and action for easing these teachers’ sufferings. We must say the affluent guardians of private educational institutions should pay the fees, while the guardians who lost their income should get waver. We ask the government and guardians to come up with the help of teachers, who build the nation despite having a little amount as salary.
In private schools, only MPO teachers are getting salary from the national exchequer, and the non-MPO remain unpaid. School and college teachers are usually depending on private tuition, which is also closed due to Coronavirus. According to the Bangladesh Teachers Association, the situation of more than two lakh non-MPO teachers at 37,000 secondary school, madrasas and technical institutions are more or less the same in this time of pandemic. Around 10 lakh teachers of thousands of kindergartens are living without any income and financial support from the government or other agency. In the absence of salaries, the teachers are living an inhuman life. If the situation worsens, it will be more catastrophic for them.
The Education Ministry should think about the teachers’ sufferings and extend financial support for them. If the educational institutions remain close till September, it might be a misfortune in the education sector. The philanthropists, Waqf fund of different Islamic banks, CSR fund of multinational companies and the national emergency fund can there be utilised to pay salary to the teachers and other professionals who remain out of government beneficiary list. This timely support would bring blessing to the most respectable people in their needs.
