He made these remarks on Saturday (August 15) at an event held at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital, where retirement benefits from the Retirement Benefit Board and the Private Educational Institution Teachers and Employees Welfare Trust were simultaneously disbursed across all 64 districts.
Dr. A.N.M. Ehsanul Haque Milon said, "On this day, our respected Prime Minister was born. And on this day, under the Prime Minister's directive, we are wiping away the tears of teachers. This is a day that used to be celebrated by spending thousands of crores of taka. And today, on this very day, the honourable Prime Minister has given us Tk 2,100 crore."
He added, "Today, across the country, 70,019 teachers are receiving their share benefits and 53,000 teachers are receiving welfare allowances. This is why it is a highly significant day in the nation's history. In the 180-day honeymoon period programme, we could not complete a few tasks from the Education Ministry. That is why the honourable Home Minister has made 32 and 33 from 31. We still have two tasks left."
More to Read
He said, "One is the Prime Minister Gold Cup. We could not complete that. We could not complete the technical education fair, giving importance to technical education—which is his favourite subject—due to lack of time. I hope he will include these in the 180-day programme. Today, we are giving a maximum of Tk 6 lakh each as welfare trust benefits in this education sector. Many are questioning the remaining money and writing about it on social media."
He added, "The previous government embezzled about Tk 7,000 crore from this sector. They placed Tk 58.79 crore in eight banks from which the chances of recovering the money are very low. Additionally, we have some money in government banks, which we are going to receive."
He further said, "In the future, with the 6 percent and 4 percent contributions you give, and the money the Prime Minister has given for buying bonds, we have total assets of Tk 88,000 crore in bonds. With this income, we have started this journey today for 1,23,000 beneficiaries of the welfare trust and retirement benefits—and in the coming year, we will gradually pay off all the remaining dues, In sha-Allah."
Recalling the history of the Teachers' Welfare Trust, the Education Minister said, "We must remember that former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia realised that when a teacher returned home after a lifetime of service, we used to bid them farewell with a cap, a punjabi, an umbrella, a stick, and a Quran. Those who helped build the nation cannot be sent off in this manner."
He said, "That is why the Prime Minister started this journey with Tk 14 crore in the first welfare trust and later Tk 89 crore. On this day, we will remember our leader Begum Khaleda Zia and Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman, who introduced the system of providing 50 percent salary to private teachers and began honouring them."
The Education Minister concluded, "In the future, the honouring of these teachers will continue. Under the Prime Minister's directives, we want to work from the Education Ministry to improve the education system—we will work towards that, In sha-Allah."