Teachers of educational institutes under the Monthly Pay Order system have continued to suffer year after year to get their retirement benefits.

Currently, 66,000 applications are pending with two authorities working to provide retirement benefits to the MPO teachers and employees under the non-government secondary schools, colleges, and madrassahs.

Some of the sufferers alleged that it took them three to five years to get these benefits, and many of them had to lobby to get the benefits.

Authorities blamed the fund crisis for the backlog but said they were trying to clear out the benefits between two and three years after an application was filed.

Currently, the Non-Government Teacher Employee Retirement Benefit Board and the Non-Government Teacher Employee Welfare Trust are separately providing one-time allowances after the retirement of teachers and employees under the MPO system.

Some 38,000 applications are pending with the Retirement Benefit Board, while 28,000 applications are now pending with the Welfare Trust for disposal.

The Retirement Benefit Board was established in 2004 and the Welfare Trust in 1990.

According to authorities, over five lakh teachers and employees are currently working in some 30,000 non-government educational institutes across the country.

Lutfun Nahar, a former teacher at a college based in Dhaka, was seen waiting outside the retirement board on August 21.

Nahar said that she went into retirement in 2021 but had not received her benefits yet.

‘My husband is sick, and for his treatment, I had to spend a huge. If I get this benefit, it will be a big help for me now,’ she added.

At least 10 teachers were seen sitting on two benches outside the Welfare Trust office on the same day.

Golam Murtaza, a former teacher at a school in Dhaka’s Chawkbazar area, said that he went on retirement in July 2022 but has not received any benefits yet.

‘They said one of my papers was unclear. It’s a certificate from 40 years ago. Where will I get the clear paper? he asked.

According to the Non-Government Teacher Employee Retirement Benefit Board, each month around 850 applications are submitted to the board, while around 600 are disposed of.

The board secretary, Sharif Ahmed Sadi, told New Age that to dispose of the  pending 38,000 applications from teachers and employees, they need around Tk 4,000 crore.

Currently, they are getting the benefits after three years, which took even six years in the past.

‘Three years’ delay is the only harassment here,’ he said.

He blamed some middlemen for causing extra suffering for the teachers because they made false promises to them for an early settlement of applications.

Between the 2016–17 and 2023–2024 financial years, the government gave Tk 1,157 crore to distribute among the teachers and the employees, he said, adding that the amount was not sufficient to meet the demand.

‘Since the establishment of the board, we have had pending applications,’ he said and blamed the fund crisis for this situation.

Sharif Ahmed said that their main source of revenue was the monthly subscription money given by the teachers in service.

‘With this per month, we get Tk 67 crore in our fund, but our demand for a month is between Tk 105 crore and Tk 110 crore. We have a deficiency of Tk 35 crore to Tk 40 crore every month,’ he said.

Responding to a question, he said that the board also receives money from other sources, like student deposits.

Sharif said that this year the students of Class XI gave Tk 100 during admission, which would be deposited with the board and the Non-Government Teacher Employee Welfare Trust funds.

The Non-Government Teacher Employee Welfare Trust secretary, Md Shahjahan Alam Shaju, told New Age that they need Tk 2000 crore to dispose of pending 28,000 applications.

‘Every month we get Tk 40–42 crore from the teachers’ and employees’ monthly subscription money, while we need Tk 52–54 crore,’ he said, adding that each month 700–800 applications are submitted to the trust.

Every year the trust sees a fund deficit of Tk 120 crore, and the gap is increasing regularly, he said.

‘It will take us another two years to clear the benefits for teachers whose applications are currently pending,’ he said.

‘The crisis of funds is a state problem, and the state will have to solve this problem,’ Shahjahan said.

He also blamed the increased salary scale of the teachers, the suspension of trust activities for five years, and the withdrawal of an annual student fee for the backlog.

In 2015, the salaries of the teachers and employees under the MPO system were doubled, which also increased the amount of their retirement benefits, he said.

After the establishment of the trust in July 1990, following the Non-Government Teacher Employee Welfare Trust Act 1990, its activities were suspended between 1991 and 1996, Shahjahan Alam said.

‘In these years, teachers and employees could not submit their monthly subscription money, and the trust was deprived of funds of Tk 150 crore to Tk 200 crore,’ he said.

‘This created a huge crisis and a gap in the fund. Teachers and employees got benefits for these five years also,’ he said.

Shahjahan said that another source of funding—the Tk 5 annual fee from the students of secondary and higher secondary level schools, colleges, and madrasahs under MPO—was also suspended for five years after 2002, creating a funding gap.

He said that in 2018, the government allotted Tk 360 crore in grants for the trust, easing the funding gap.

Deceased teachers’ family members, seriously ill, freedom fighters and parents with children are eligible for benefits on an emergency basis, according to both the board and the trust officials.