Education Minister Dr. ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon has revealed that around 67,000 applications for retirement benefits of teachers and employees from private educational institutions are currently pending. He made the announcement during a question-and-answer session in the Jatiya Sangsad on Sunday.
Gaibandha-5 MP Md. Abdul Wares raised concerns over the prolonged delays in retirement payouts, stating that retired teachers from private schools, colleges, and madrasas have struggled for years without receiving their due benefits.Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed Bir Bikram is presiding over the session.
In response, Milon said that the government is very sincere about providing retirement benefits and welfare benefits to retired teachers and employees of private educational institutions quickly.
“Currently, about 67,000 applications are pending in the Private Educational Institution Teachers and Employees Retirement Benefit Board.”
He said that on average, a teacher/employee receives about 1.3 million taka in retirement allowance. Although about 8,710 crore taka is required to settle these applications, about 1,300 crore taka is currently deposited in the retirement fund. As a result, there is a financial deficit of about 7,410 crore taka.
The minister further said that about 45,000 applications are pending in the Private Educational Institution Teachers and Employees Welfare Trust from August 2023 to June 21, 2026. A one-time allocation of about 3,150 crore taka is required to settle these applications.
The government has already taken steps to allocate the necessary funds to resolve the financial crisis of the Retirement Benefit Board and the Welfare Trust.
In addition, measures have been taken to restart the software, increase manpower, expand online activities and send money directly to the bank accounts of teachers and employees through iBAS++ to speed up the settlement of applications.
If the necessary funds are allocated, it will be possible to settle the current outstanding applications of the Retirement Benefits Board within 6 months. The government's goal is to take necessary policy and administrative measures so that retired teachers and employees can receive their due retirement and welfare benefits within 3 to 6 months of retirement in the future.
Bd-pratidin English/TR
