State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Mir Shahe Alam has expressed support for the demand to nationalise non-government teachers and employees.
He said the government will eventually nationalise non-government educational institutions to improve teachers’ status and living standards.
Speaking as a special guest at a conference organised by the Teachers-Employees Unity Alliance at the Engineers Institute Auditorium in Ramna on Thursday morning, he said teachers’ pay, allowances, pensions and dignity had improved under the leadership of Khaleda Zia.
He expressed hope that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s government would implement the demand for nationalisation.
Highlighting the government’s efforts to strengthen education, Shahe Alam said the elected government had completed seven months in office following a long movement and a free and fair election.
He said the government had set up a special Tk2,000 crore fund to provide retirement benefits to nearly 100,000 teachers who retired between 2022 and 2026 despite financial constraints.
He also said the government had tripled the national education budget and doubled the health budget.
On the financial cost of nationalisation, the state minister said the process would require an additional Tk700 crore to Tk800 crore each year.
He urged teachers to organise a disciplined and large-scale national rally to present their demand to the prime minister in a democratic and humane manner.
He expressed confidence that the government would understand the importance of their demand.
The state minister also announced a new Education Ministry grant scheme under which every educational institution could install a 5.5 kW rooftop solar power system.
He said the initiative would ensure uninterrupted electricity for educational institutions and allow them to earn an estimated Tk5,000 to Tk10,000 a month by selling surplus electricity to the national grid during holidays and off-hours.
The state minister also clarified the debate over teachers contesting local government elections.
He said teachers could contest local elections as long as the government did not fully nationalise non-government institutions, as no legal or policy restriction prevented them from doing so.
Describing teaching as the profession that creates all other professions, he called teachers the driving force of society and messengers of democracy. He urged teachers to stand united against propaganda that sought to undermine their social status.
BNP Acting Secretary General and Prime Minister’s Political Adviser Advocate Ruhul Kabir Rizvi was scheduled to attend the conference as the chief guest.
Other key attendees included Member of Parliament and teacher leader Principal Md Salim Bhuiyan, Teachers-Employees Unity Alliance Secretary General Chowdhury Mugees Uddin Mahmud, and Bangladesh Teachers Association Secretary General Md Zakir Hossain.
