MPO-listed teachers, staff set to get 50% bonus on Eid-ul-Azha

The government has decided to provide 50% of salaries as bonuses to teachers and staff of private educational institutions who are listed on the Monthly Payment Order (MPO) system.

Currently, the MPO-listed teachers and staff of private educational institutions get 25% of their salaries as Eid bonuses. Once the new decision is implemented, the government will have to spend an additional Tk229 crore for this purpose, according to sources.

According to data from the Secondary and Higher Education Division (SHED) of the Ministry of Education, there are a total of 3,98,068 MPO-listed teachers and staff at private educational institutions across the country.

MPO is the government's share in the payroll of the non-government educational institutions. Under the scheme, the government gives 100% of the basic salaries and several monthly allowances to the teachers of these institutions. Moreover, infrastructural development, number, and result of the students are also considered to be included under MPO.

Since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina from power in August last year, these teachers and staff have been staging protests, demanding nationalisation of their jobs and increasing their salaries and allowances.

SHED sent a proposal to the finance ministry in February this year to raise the festival bonuses of MPO-listed teachers and staff to 50% of their salaries. The Finance Division accepted the proposal during a meeting of the Budget Monitoring and Resource Committee chaired by Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed on 15 April.

However, instead of allocating an extra Tk229 crore for this purpose, the Finance Division directed concerned authorities to spend the money allocated to different sectors of SHED in the current budget.

SHED Senior Secretary Siddique Zobair sent a letter to Finance Secretary Khairuzzaman Mozumder on 21 April, seen by The Business Standard, asking for a final approval to spend Tk229 crore from the money allocated to SHED.

In the letter, Siddique requested Khairuzzaman to take necessary measures to provide festival allowance at 50% of the basic salary, instead of the existing 25%, for MPO-listed teachers working in non-government educational institutions on the occasion of upcoming Eid-ul-Azha.

He said SHED has Tk50 crore as allocation for the newly recognised private educational institutions in the current budget. As the government will not list any new institutions on the MPO by June, this money will remain unspent and it can be used to give as the additional bonuses to the MPO-listed teachers and staff.

Besides, many MPO-listed educational institutions have been nationalised, and their teachers and staff are receiving salaries from the revenue sector. As a result, Tk179 crore will be saved from SHED's allocations, which can be spent on doubling the bonuses of the MPO-listed teachers and staff, the letter added.

However, Siddique could not be reached over the phone for comments.

The finance adviser and finance secretary could not be reached for comments as both are currently in the United States.

However, a Finance Division official told TBS that their division is looking at the matter positively as SHED has said it will be able to spend Tk229 crore from money allocated to them already in the current budget.

The final approval may be given after the finance adviser returns home on 29 April, said the official.

Bangladesh may celebrate the Eid-ul-Azha, the second largest religious festival of Muslims, on 7 June -- subject to the sighting of the moon.