The government has raised the house rent allowance for MPO-listed teachers and staff from Tk1,000 to Tk1,500, according to a Finance Division order issued on September 30.
However, teachers have rejected the decision, demanding that the house rent allowance be fixed at 20% of the basic salary and that the medical allowance be raised from Tk500 to Tk1,500.
They have also announced a continuous sit-in program in front of the National Press Club from October 12 to press home their demands.
Delwar Hossain Azizi, member secretary of the MPO-Listed Education Nationalisation Alliance, said: "We have rejected the Tk500 increase in house rent allowance. MPO-listed teachers and staff demand that house rent be set at a minimum of 20% of the basic salary.
"We also want the medical allowance to be increased from Tk500 to Tk1,500 and the festival allowance to be raised from 50% to 75% of the basic salary. As our demands have not been accepted, we have decided to proceed with our previously announced continuous sit-in from October 12 in front of the National Press Club.”
According to the order issued by the Finance Division on September 30, the allowance will come into effect following an administrative ministry’s directive and all relevant financial regulations must be observed while disbursing the payments.
It further stated that any future irregularities regarding the expenditure would hold the bill-paying authorities accountable.
The Finance Division issued the order in response to a proposal sent by the office of the education adviser on August 7 to increase the house rent allowance for teachers.
Teachers said MPO-listed teachers and staff receive salaries according to the national pay scale.
They get Tk500 as a monthly medical allowance and previously received Tk1,000 as a house rent allowance, which has now been increased by Tk500.
Earlier, MPO-listed teachers used to receive two festival bonuses per year at a rate of 25% of their basic salary, while staff received 50%.
In May this year, teachers’ festival allowance was increased to 50% of the basic salary. They also receive a Baishakhi allowance once a year, equivalent to 20% of their basic salary.
During the tenure of the current interim government, MPO-listed teachers staged a sit-in in front of the National Press Club on August 13, demanding nationalisation of the education system.
Later, a 12-member delegation met Education Adviser CR Abrar at the Secretariat and urged that house rent for MPO-listed teachers and staff be set at a minimum of 20% of their basic salary.
Delwar Hossain Azizi, who led the delegation, said: “The Education Adviser told us on August 13 that a letter had been sent to the Finance Ministry, proposing to increase the house rent from Tk1,000 to Tk2,000 and the medical allowance from Tk500 to Tk1,000. But we did not agree to that. "
He added: "Later, the adviser asked us to calculate the cost if the house rent were fixed as a percentage of the basic salary, which we submitted. However, without considering our calculation, the government merely raised the house rent allowance by Tk500.”
