Teachers to get partial retirement benefits this month

The government has taken an initiative to reduce the hardship faced by MPO-listed private school and college teachers and employees in receiving their retirement and welfare benefits. For the time being, almost all retired teachers and employees who have applied will be given a portion of their due benefits.

Primarily, the money that was deducted from their salaries during their service will be disbursed now. The remaining amount will be paid later according to the serial order of application.

Under the initiative, each teacher or employee will initially receive up to Tk 450,000 as retirement benefits and up to Tk 239,000 as welfare benefits. The amount will vary depending on their pay grade.

Teachers and employees who applied for welfare benefits by 30 June and those who applied for retirement benefits by 31 July will be eligible for the payments. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will inaugurate the programme on 15 August.

According to the Ministry of Education sources, the Non Government Teachers & Employee Welfare Trust and the Non Government Teacher Employee Retirement Benefit Board, 70,119 teachers and employees will receive retirement benefits this time, at a cost of around Tk 12 billion. Welfare benefits will be paid against 53,477 applications, requiring around Tk 5.65 billion.

A teacher or employee is eligible for both welfare and retirement benefits. Therefore, although money is being disbursed against 123,596 applications across the two sectors, the total number of individual teachers and employees is less than that.

Thousands of private school and college teachers and employees currently have to wait for months or even years after retirement to receive the money they are entitled to. Some have waited until the end of their lives without receiving their dues. This has created deep frustration and resentment among teachers.

Against this backdrop, teachers and employees see receiving at least part of their dues as a positive development. However, they expect the remaining amount to be paid soon as well.

A welfare trust official told Prothom Alo that although partial payments are being made now, they hope the government will later allocate funds for the sector, allowing the remaining dues to be paid.

More than 600,000 MPO-listed teachers and employees work at private educational institutions across the country.

Their retirement and welfare benefits are administered by two separate institutions. Non Government Teachers & Employee Welfare Trust provides welfare benefits, while the Non Government Teacher Employee Retirement Benefit Board provides retirement benefits.

The funds are generated from teachers’ contributions, interest earned on money deposited in banks, and occasional government allocations and bond facilities.

For retirement benefits, six per cent of teachers’ and employees’ basic salaries were deducted every month during their service. Another four per cent was deducted for welfare benefits. Contributions were collected at these rates until 2019. Before that, four per cent was deducted for retirement benefits and two per cent for welfare benefits.

Additionally, Tk 100 is collected annually from each student. Of this, Tk 70 is deposited into the retirement benefit fund and Tk 30 into the welfare benefit fund. The remaining money is adjusted from the government and the interest on the deposited money.

According to sources, a principal at the highest pay grade is entitled to around Tk 3.8 million in total retirement benefits. Of this, approximately Tk 450,000 comes from their own contributions. A principal receives more than Tk 2 million in total welfare benefits.

Meanwhile, a secondary school assistant teacher receives around Tk 1.7 million in retirement benefits, including approximately Tk 200,000 from their contributions.

An assistant teacher receives nearly Tk 700,000 in total welfare benefits, of which around Tk 77,000 comes from their contributions. The amounts are lower for employees.

Sources at the Ministry of Education and the two institutions said the partial payments are being made mainly from the funds currently available with the two institutions.

Md Mosharraf Hossain, secretary of the retirement benefit board, told Prothom Alo that almost all the teachers and employees who have applied will now receive the portion corresponding to their contributions. As soon as the rest of the money arrives, it will continue to be disbursed. He hopes that this will alleviate the suffering regarding the matter.