‘Nobody can feel our pain’
This will be the first Eid for Arafat Haque, a lecturer of Demra University College, when he will not be able to buy anything new for his seven-year-old boy.
A non-MPO teacher, Arafat did not get salaries of March and April but his colleagues who enjoy the benefits under the MPO drew salaries on time and they will even get the festival bonus for Eid-ul-Fitr.
Under the monthly payment order (MPO), teachers get 100 percent basic salary from the exchequer with some house rent and medical allowance.
"I am running my families by borrowing from relatives and friends but that too will not be possible in the near future. We are teachers -- we cannot just stand on the roads asking for money, or start selling vegetables," Arafat said.
According to Bangladesh Teachers Association President Nazrul Islam Rony, the situation of more than two lakh non-MPO teachers at 37,000 secondary school, madrasas and technical institutions are more of less the same in this time of pandemic.
"In the absence of salaries, the teachers are living an inhuman life. If the situation worsens, it will be catastrophic for them," Rony said.
The authorities, on the other hand, argue that they were unable to pay the teachers' salaries as the tuition fees from students, their only source of earnings, could not be collected.
Over a hundred teachers at Novelty School and College in the capital's South Banasree said they did not receive salaries of March and April. They have lost hope for festival allowance.
Principal Md Ruhul Amin said they could not pay the teachers' salaries due to fund crisis as they were not able to collect tuition fees from students.
According to Rony, only a few renowned schools of capital have savings and they can pay the salaries of teachers without being dependent on tuition fees.
Non-government teachers said they are usually ill paid and provide private tuitions besides their job. Now with schools shut and children mostly staying home, they lost both the means of earning.
Jesmin Parveen, a widow and a teacher of Najifa Bright Model School, a Kindergarten in Pabna, said she was passing her days in financial hardship with her income from the job as well as the private tuitions totally off over the last two months.
"If the coronavirus situation continues, I will not have any alternative to seeking help from others for survival," Jesmin said. "Nobody can feel our pain."
All educational institutions have been closed since March 17, and the government has now extended the closure until May 30 to stem the further spread of Covid-19.
On April 27, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said all educational institutions may stay closed until September if the situation does not improve.
Nekbor Hossain, convenor of Bangladesh Non-Government Honour's-Master's College Teachers' Forum, said about 3,000 teachers at 352 colleges are facing the same crisis. "We demand salaries for the sake of our life and dignity."
Teachers of private technical institutions are also not getting salaries for the last couple of months.
Abdul Aziz, president of Technical Education Consortium of Bangladesh, an association of technical institution owners, admitted that they could not provide salaries to the about at least 30,000 teachers of over 9,000 non-government institutions.
Less than five percent technical institutions have the ability to pay salaries of teachers from own funds, he said.
As most of the institution are housed at rented buildings, they need to pay electricity and other bills. Moreover, tuition fees at these institutions are comparatively less than others.
So, there is no scope of create reserved funds, he added.
'PAY TEACHERS REGULARLY'
Bangladesh Kindergarten School and College Oikya Parishad chairman Iqbal Chowdhury and Bangladesh Kindergarten Association president Abdur Rashid said that they cannot pay teachers' salaries in the absence of tuition fees of students.
"We know teachers are passing their days in hardship. But where will we get money to pay the salaries?" asked Iqbal and said there are about eight to 10 lakh teachers at 60,000 kindergartens.
Abdur Rashid fears about 20 percent students of kindergartens will drop out and many teachers may leave the job because of economic crisis cause by the shutdowns.
Directorate of Primary Education's Director General Md Fashiullah said 500 to 600 kindergartens were registered with the DPE.
"Most of the kindergartens do business. Why won't they be able to pay salaries of teachers? I will urge them to pay teachers regularly," he added.
Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education's Director General Prof Syed Md Golam Faruk urged the authorities of all private schools and colleges to pay salaries of teachers.
"We will not accept if a school or college collects tuition fees but refused to pay salaries of teachers," he added.
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