Body formed to revise MPO enlistment rules

The government has formed a nine-member committee to amend guidelines on enlisting educational institutions for the Monthly Pay Order (MPO) facility, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid told parliament yesterday.

Replying to lawmakers' queries, Nahid said the education ministry would finalise the guidelines after receiving the committee's proposals. “On getting the budget allocation, the government will consider MPO enlistment of educational institutions as per necessity,” he said.

Nahid also said the MPO enlistment of private educational institutions was an ongoing process. “The Awami League government in its previous tenure in 2010 enlisted 1,624 private educational institutions,” he said.

In reply to another query, he said there were currently 26,084 private educational institutions getting MPO facility.

In addition, Primary and Mass Education Minister Mostafizur Rahman said there were now over 60,000 posts of teachers, including 16,603 of headmasters, vacant in primary schools.

Of the 16,603, 8,348 were in government primary schools and 8,255 in nationalised primary schools, he said.

The number of vacant posts of assistant teachers is 44,095 -- 23,669 in government primary schools and 20,426 in nationalised ones, he added.

The process to prepare a gradation list of teachers in now underway at the ministry in line with the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC)-related organogram and checklists, aiming to promote them to the post of headmaster, he said.

But the High Court passed a stay order on the process following a writ petition. A leave-to-appeal petition was filed with the Appellate Division against the stay order, he added.

Meanwhile, the primary and mass education ministry on April 7 sent a proposal to PSC for recruitment to those vacant headmaster posts which are eligible for direct appointment, he said.

A meeting was also held at PSC on May 19 over recruitment to 50 percent of such vacant direct posts from the 34th Bangladesh Civil Service candidates, he informed.

Besides, the process of recruitment for posts of headmasters and assistant teachers in 667 primary schools, set up under a project for establishing 1,500 new schools in villages without them, now remain halted due to a court order, he added.