Dhaka: The Teachers-Employees Job Nationalisation Alliance and the Retired Teachers and Employees Coordination Forum announced a series of programs on Wednesday aimed at advocating for a 10-point demand. This includes the nationalisation of jobs for MPO-enlisted non-government teachers and employees as well as their inclusion in the 9th national pay scale. The announcement was made during a press conference at the National Press Club in the city.
According to United News of Bangladesh, leaders from the organizations have pledged to initiate a series of programs if their demands are not met by August 31. These programs include divisional rallies set for September and October and the formation of a Struggle Committee to intensify their movement. Among the 10 demands are the payment of salaries to MPO-enlisted teachers and employees in accordance with existing rules, nationalisation of their jobs to address discrimination, introduction of a speedy transfer system, and payment of 100 percent festival allowances and house rent in line with government regulations.
Other significant demands include replacing the Non-Government Teachers' Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA) with PSC-2 for teacher recruitment, bringing all recognized educational institutions under the MPO scheme, raising the retirement age to 65, and ensuring night guards receive leave in accordance with existing rules, along with the appointment of a second night guard.
Jasim Uddin Ahmed, the chief adviser to the Retired Teachers and Employees Coordination Forum, raised concerns over the Education Ministry and the Welfare and Retirement Benefits Board's plan to provide Tk 2.5 lakh and Tk 5 lakh as one-time payments to each of the 44,000 applicants from the Welfare Trust and the Retirement Benefits Board respectively on August 15. He claimed this move violates existing rules as teachers and employees were previously entitled to receive an amount equivalent to 25 months of their last salary from the Welfare Trust and 75 months from the Retirement Benefits Board.
Ahmed warned that future moves to return only the money deposited by retired teachers and employees could foster distrust towards the government among the teaching community. He highlighted that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had allocated 2 percent of GDP for the education sector in the 2026-27 fiscal year with plans to increase this allocation to 5 percent over the next four years. Additionally, Tk 200 crore had been allocated for welfare and retirement benefits.
'These measures had helped build confidence among the teaching community in the government. But the Education Ministry was trying to create misunderstanding through subtle tactics so that teachers and employees could be deprived of their legitimate rights,' said Jashim Uddin.