M M Jasim :
The government is going to grant special allocation for the non-MPO educational institutions including madrasa in the proposed budget.
A total of Tk 500 crore will be given for the non-MPO educational institutions to bring them under MPO list, the Education Ministry sources said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina may announce the allocation in the Parliament soon.
Secretary (Secondary and Higher Education Division) of the Education Ministry Md Sohrab Hossain said, there is good news for the non-MPO educational institutions. But they have to be patient.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina may give the allocation from her personal fund. That is why, the teachers must wait until the budget is passed in the Parliament. It will not be wise to continue their agitation,” the secretary said.
The ministry sources said, Tk 15,000 crore has been allocated for the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) this year. Of them, the PMO will give Tk 500 crore for non-MPO educational institutions, Tk 400 crore for the increment of the teachers and Tk 186 crore as the Boishakhai allowance. But the government did not mention it in the budget due to political reason.
Meanwhile, non-government teachers continued their sit-in programme for the third consecutive day on Tuesday in the capital for inclusion of their institutions in the Monthly Pay Order (MPO).
The teachers under the banner of Non-MPO Educational Institutions’ Teachers and Employees Federation gathered in front of the National Press Club at about 10:00am as part of sit-in programme which was foiled by police on Monday.
The teachers staged the demonstration as Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid did not take any initiative to fulfill their demand, said Golam Mahmudunnabi Dollar, President of the federation.
During the demonstration, the teachers declared their rejection to the education minister’s assurance where he said the non-government teachers would be gradually enlisted for the subvention even if there is no allocation in the budget.
Asim Kumar Baral, an agitated teacher, said that the education minister assured them several times and it was the 27th time they came to Dhaka to raise their demand.
‘We thought that the finance minister would allocate money for them in the budget. But it is so frustrating that he did not even mention about the issue in the proposed budget,’ he added.
Federation General Secretary Binay Bhushan Ray along with other federation leaders was also present during the sit-in programme.
The teachers, who called off their last round of movement following prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s assurance, have started their latest movement on Sunday amid police intervention.
