Govt to nationalise pvt teachers' jobs, plans to bring eligible institutes under MPO if policy made: Minister
The minister added that such a decision is not solely under the jurisdiction of the ministry; rather, it is closely linked with the government's overall financial capacity
Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon today (8 April) told the parliament that the government will take necessary steps to nationalise the jobs of teachers and employees of private educational institutions if a policy decision is taken in this regard.
He added that the government also plans to gradually bring eligible non-MPO educational institutions under the Monthly Pay Order (MPO) scheme, subject to policy decisions and the availability of funds.
Milon said this while replying to a tabled question from ruling party lawmaker Md Selim Bhuiyan (Cumilla-2) at Parliament regarding whether the Ministry of Education has taken any initiative to nationalise the jobs of private teachers and employees and inquired about the MPO teachers' situation.
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The minister said that according to the prime minister's directive, private colleges are nationalised when required, and after that, the service conditions of teachers and employees of those institutions are reviewed, and their jobs are nationalised following applicable rules and regulations.
With Speaker Major (retd) Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, Bir Bikram, in the chair, he said nationalisation of jobs of teachers and employees of private educational institutions is a long-term and policy-level issue.
"Such a decision is not solely under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education; rather, it is closely linked with the government's overall financial capacity, existing policies and the national budget," he added.
The education minister informed the House that currently there are 34,129 private educational institutions in the country, where 598,994 teachers and 206,699 employees are working.
Providing institution-wise statistics, Milon said there are 18,578 schools with 265,678 teachers and 96,892 employees; 1,493 schools and colleges with 59,797 teachers and 20,782 employees; 2,738 colleges with 86,646 teachers and 31,956 employees; 9,293 madrasas with 164,371 teachers and 45,524 employees; and 2,027 technical and vocational institutions with 22,502 teachers and 11,545 employees.
In response to the Cumilla-2 lawmaker's question regarding the total number of non-MPO institutions in the country, Mion provided a detailed breakdown of the 6,179 non-MPO institutions nationwide.
Of these, 3,798 fall under the Secondary and Higher Education Division, including 2,712 schools, 223 school-and-colleges, and 863 colleges. Under the Technical and Madrasah Education Division, there are 2,381 institutions, consisting of 1,092 madrasahs and 1,289 technical institutions.
The minister further noted that the government has been implementing the MPO enlistment process in phases to ensure the spread of quality education and the financial security of teachers and staff.
He explained that decisions regarding MPO status are made based on applications submitted under prescribed guidelines, followed by a rigorous verification process and the allocation of necessary financial resources.
Meanwhile, regarding the nationalisation of teachers' jobs, he added, "On the basis of the government's policy decisions and the availability of financial provisions, necessary measures will be taken in the future to gradually bring eligible non-MPO educational institutions under the scheme."
The education minister reiterated that necessary measures will be taken to nationalise the jobs of teachers and employees of private educational institutions if the government takes a policy decision in this regard.
