Govt to offer 70% pay incentive to teachers in basic medical subjects

The interim government has taken a new initiative to address the acute shortage of educators in basic subjects of medical education by offering a 70% incentive on basic pay to eligible teachers.

According to two circulars issued in this regard by the health ministry on 4 October, the incentive will apply to teachers of basic subjects at five medical universities, 37 government medical colleges, Dhaka Dental College, the Centre for Medical Education, and 19 specialised institutes.

The incentive, effective from the current fiscal year, will be given as a non-practising allowance equivalent to 70% of the basic salary. It will cover teachers in 10 basic disciplines — Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Forensic Medicine, Community Medicine, Pathology, Microbiology, Virology, and Anaesthesiology.

However, the benefit comes with conditions. Teachers must officially declare that they are not engaged in private practice. Those who fail to submit the non-practising declaration or are later found to be involved in private practice will be ineligible for the incentive.

All financial regulations must be strictly followed in processing the payments. The allowance rate will remain unchanged under the ninth national pay scale, and any future irregularities in disbursement will make the approving authorities liable.

According to data from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), there are 6,446 teaching positions across 37 public medical colleges, of which 2,700 are vacant. The shortage is most severe at the professor level, where 64.65% of posts remain unfilled.

The shortage is particularly high in basic subjects because these disciplines offer no private practice opportunities, discouraging doctors from pursuing them. For years, health education experts had been urging the government to introduce such incentives to attract more teachers to these essential foundational subjects.