Govt needs Tk 9,638cr to clear 80,320 teachers’ benefit claims: Education minister

Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon said yesterday that currently a total of 80,320 applications are pending with the Non-Government Teacher Employee Retirement Benefit Board and the Non-Government Teacher Employee Welfare Trust.

He said Tk 9,638 crore will be required to settle these claims and to provide retirement and welfare benefits to MPO-listed non-government educational institution teachers.

While answering a query of Rangpur-1 MP Rayhan Shirazi in the parliament, the minister said the government is considering the issue of delay in releasing retirement and welfare allowances of teachers and employees of private educational institutions with utmost seriousness and various effective steps have already been taken to resolve the problems.

According to the information received, out of the 80,320 pending applications, about 59,820 are still awaiting disposal, for which about Tk 7,176 crore is required.

The minister said the government has set a target of settling about 20,500 applications in the current 2025-2026 fiscal year and has planned to spend Tk 2,462 crore in this sector.

Already, 6,000 applications have been settled and about Tk 700 crore has been paid out, and with the remaining money, it will be possible to pay allowances to about 14,500 more teachers and employees.

In addition, welfare allowance continues to be provided regularly through the welfare trust. The welfare trust is mainly run through a four percent contribution from the salaries of teachers and employees under MPO, whose annual income is about Tk 660 crore, but the necessary expenditure is about Tk 840 crore, resulting in a deficit of about Tk 180 crore annually.

The minister said they have taken several steps to address this financial shortfall and speed up the process of paying allowances. Initiatives have been taken to allocate additional funds for the welfare trust.

The issue of allocating a minimum of Tk 200 crore per fiscal year from the national budget is being considered and plans have been made to construct its own building and educational complex to transform the welfare trust into an income-generating institution, he said.

In addition, an initiative has been taken to include the welfare trust as an income tax-exempt organisation, which will save about Tk 7 crore every year.

Besides, in order to make the allowance payment process transparent, fast and digital, an online application system has been introduced since 2018, and from January 1, 2025, money is being transferred directly to the bank accounts of teachers and employees by including it in the iBAS++ system.