NAPD director-general ignores rules, takes extra classes himself and does not share pay

According to the rules, an official holding the rank of secretary may conduct no more than 10 classes for a two-month training course. However, Khairul Kabir Menon, director-general of the National Academy for Planning and Development (NAPD), is not following this rule.

He has conducted three times the permitted number of classes in a training course for non-cadre officials from various ministries and divisions. He has also conducted nearly twice the permitted number of sessions in two courses for health cadre officials.

NAPD officials say it is customary for external resource persons to conduct a larger share of the classes in training courses. However, the director-general’s decision to take more classes himself has reduced opportunities for external resource persons. Because of his position as head of the institution, no one feels comfortable raising objections publicly.

In their view, the issue concerns not only money but also rules and ethics. As the head of the institution, he should be the one to follow the rules. Yet he is taking more classes himself, going beyond the prescribed limits. None of his predecessors as director-general took so many classes.

The National Academy for Planning and Development is an institution under the Ministry of Public Administration. Its primary responsibility is to provide training to officials and employees of various government and private organisations.

The institution began its journey as a project in 1980. In 1984, the academy formally started operations in its own building in Nilkhet, Dhaka. It was declared an institute the following year. Since then, it has been providing training on various subjects to officials and employees of government and private organisations.

At the fifth meeting of the National Academy for Planning and Development’s Board of Governors in 1996, it was decided that no member of the academy could conduct more than 10 classes in a training programme funded by an external organisation.

Twenty per cent of the honorarium received from such training had to be deposited with the accounts section. This money would be treated as the academy’s own income and it would be used to provide pensions. The Board of Governors is chaired by the planning minister, with the state minister for planning serving as vice-chairman.

On 9 July, the first meeting of a committee tasked with determining the numbers of session faculty members could conduct according to their ranks was held at NAPD. The five-member committee recommended that an official holding the rank of secretary or first grade could conduct a maximum of 10 sessions.

The minutes of the meeting stated that transparency, balance and a reasonable distribution based on rank needed to be ensured when allocating training sessions. The meeting also discussed maintaining a balance in the allocation of sessions between the academy’s own faculty members and external resource persons.

In other words, both the earlier decision of the Board of Governors and the recommendation of the academy’s own committee set a limit of 10 classes for an official holding the rank of secretary. However, allegations have emerged that the director-general himself is not following these guidelines.

When asked about the matter, NAPD Director-General Khairul Kabir Menon told Prothom Alo that it was not mandatory for the director-general to follow the limit of conducting a maximum of 10 classes.

The rule had not been followed in the past, he said, adding that previous directors-general had conducted even more classes.

When asked why he did not deposit 20 per cent of the income from classes with the accounts section, as required by the rules, he said, “We are officials from the administration cadre who come to NAPD on deputation. We are not permanent employees of this institution.”

“We will leave when we receive a transfer order. We will not get this money back. We will not benefit from this pension. So why should we deposit 20 per cent of our earnings there?” he questioned.

The director-general said that conducting a class required extensive study, preparation and hard work. He asked what was wrong with receiving an honorarium for it. He said he would propose amendments to these rules at the next meeting of the Board of Governors.

However, a source at NAPD said that previous directors-general of the institution had not conducted so many classes. Some had not conducted any classes at all. Instead, they had focused on developing the institution’s policies and strategies and improving the quality of its training programmes.

Khairul Kabir Menon joined NAPD as its director-general on 17 June. Following his appointment, the 35th Special Foundation Training Course for non-cadre officials began on 12 July and ended on 9 September. During the nearly two-month course, he conducted 30 classes. He received an honorarium of Tk 3,600 for each class.

In addition, Khairul Kabir Menon received an honorarium of Tk 5,000 for each of two extension lectures and Tk 6,000 for each of two interviews conducted as part of the course.

The director-general also received honorarium for taking part in a study tour outside Dhaka, a book review meeting, and the opening and closing ceremonies. As a result, it is difficult to determine his total earnings from a single course.

A government official who attended the 35th Foundation Training Course told Prothom Alo that the director-general had been taking classes one after another. The official had also raised objections to this.

In the official’s words, it was inappropriate for one person to conduct most of the classes in a two-month course. Only his views were heard, with no opportunity to hear different opinions. This reduced the scope for trainees to broaden their knowledge.

According to NAPD sources, the 138th and 139th Special Foundation Training Courses for newly recruited health cadre officials were held during the same period. Both courses began on 16 August and ended on 14 October. The director-general conducted 16 classes in each course.

In addition, he took part in book review meetings, report presentations, extension lectures, interviews, study tours, worked as an adviser, and participated in panel discussions on a safe working environment at the workplace in both courses. He also participated in the study tours and the presentation of reports following the tours.

Honorarium is provided for these activities as well. As a result, no precise figure is available for the total honoraria the director-general received from classes and other activities across the three training courses during his four months in office.

Under the prescribed limit, the director-general was allowed to conduct a maximum of 30 classes across the three courses. However, he conducted 62. Including other sessions and activities, the total number of classes he conducted and activities he took part in was at least 75. During this period, he also conducted a limited number of classes in various short evening courses.

Four newly recruited officials who attended the health cadre training courses told Prothom Alo that the Director General conducted a relatively high number of classes. However, they said they had not known that there was a specific limit on the number of classes he could take.

A review reveals that the Director General conducted classes on topics including corruption prevention, etiquette and manners for government officials, leadership, good governance, the Right to Information Act, and various aspects of the Government Servants Rules.