MPs want more MPO listing

Lawmakers yesterday put pressure on the finance minister for inclusion of new schools under the government's Monthly Payment Order (MPO) list.
Members of various standing committees at a pre-budget meeting with Finance Minister AMA Muhith said they wanted a decision right then on inclusion of new schools under the MPO.
The inclusion process could be done in phases if it could not be done at one go, the lawmakers told the minister.
Almost all members of the committees exerted pressure on the minister regarding inclusion of new schools under the MPO, apparently to gain support from voters in their localities in the run-up to the forthcoming national polls.
Md Abdul Wadud, an MP from Rajshahi, said inclusion of new schools under the MPO was one of the government's election pledges and there was no scope for procrastination on the issue.
Muhith, however, told the meeting that it was a popular demand but a dangerous one for the government.
"The secondary education system has been destroyed with the wholesale inclusion of institutions under the MPO," he said, adding that at present around 20,000 schools out of 26,000 are under the MPO system.
The finance minister said some schools were still being placed under the MPO.
However, all lawmakers present at the meeting loudly said no school was being brought under the MPO at present.
They also demanded an increase in budgetary allocation for infrastructure development in their areas, eyeing the next parliamentary election.