Universal Pension Scheme: MPO-listed teachers, staff to be included

The government has taken the initiative to include teachers and staff of Monthly Payment Order (MPO)-listed private educational institutions in the universal pension scheme.

To implement this initiative, the government formed a 14-member committee, its convener Additional Secretary of Secondary and Higher Secondary Division (Secondary-2) Rabiul Islam told this newspaper.

He said the committee was formed to prepare recommendations to permanently resolve the existing complexities of the welfare fund and retirement benefits for MPO-listed teachers and staff, and to bring them under the universal pension scheme.

"We already had a meeting regarding the implementation of the initiative today. Initially, we discussed identifying problems and looking for possible solutions in incorporating these teachers and staff into the pension scheme," he added.

The government will take steps accordingly based on those recommendations. If everything goes well, private school teachers will also receive pensions like those of government employees, he added.

Asked if the existing retirement and welfare trusts will be dissolved if the pension scheme is implemented, Rabiul replied, "We are not discussing it in our committee. The government will decide."

In April, the issue of including private teachers and staff under the universal pension scheme was raised at the second meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Education Ministry.

Education Minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury instructed that a report be prepared and presented to the parliamentary committee. On May 6, the ministry formed the committee.

The committee also includes representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the National Pension Scheme, and officials from various educational departments. They are instructed to submit a comprehensive report within a short period.

Asked about any possible date for submitting the report, Additional Secretary Rabiul Islam said, "We just held our first meeting today. We will try to submit the report and recommendations as soon as possible."

Currently, there are nearly 30,000 MPO-enlisted schools, colleges, madrasas, and technical educational institutions. These institutions employ over 5 lakh teachers and employees. Since 1990, they have been receiving benefits from the welfare trust and retirement benefits from 2005. Under these two schemes, teachers receive a lump sum payment based on their length of service.

The government rolled out the universal pension scheme in August 2023 with an aim to bring all citizens aged above 18 under the coverage.