'Prottoy' to be effective from July 2025, not this year: Quader
Quader said, “Under the universal pension scheme, all government and autonomous institutions will join from 1 July 2025. The information suggesting that public university teachers would join from 1 July 2024 is incorrect”
The new universal pension scheme "Prottoy" will be effective from 1 July 2025 instead of this year, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader said yesterday following a meeting with the leaders of the public university teachers who have been protesting against their inclusion.
Stating that there has been a misunderstanding over the date, Obaidul Quader said, "Under the universal pension scheme, all government and autonomous institutions will join from 1 July 2025. The information suggesting that public university teachers would join from 1 July 2024 is incorrect."
Quader, who is also road transport and bridges minister, made the announcement at a press conference today.
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Noting that the meeting included the possibility of granting a super grade to teachers, Quader said, "We will raise the written demands of public university teachers at the highest level of the government [the prime minister]. A solution is expected to be found through further discussions."
On the possibility of the protesting teachers withdrawing their strike, Obaidul Quader said, "They [protesting teachers] said they will discuss the matter with the federation leaders and make a decision."
The two-hour-long meeting took place at the political office of the Awami League President Sheikh Hasina in Dhanmondi, beginning at 11am and concluding at 1pm.
Following the meeting, Professor Md Nizamul Haque Bhuiyan, general secretary of the Public University Teachers' Federation and president of the Dhaka University Teachers' Association, expressed his satisfaction with the discussion.
"We have had an open dialogue regarding our three-point demands. However, before issuing any media statements, I would like to confer with the Federation of Teachers' Associations," he said.
Regarding the ongoing strike, Nizamul Haque Bhuiyan added, "A decision will be made after consulting on Saturday with the federation across all universities and a meeting with the teachers' association."
Earlier, Obaidul Quader was scheduled to meet with the representatives of the teachers on 4 July to discuss their demands regarding the withdrawal of the new universal pension scheme 'Prottoy'. However, that meeting did not take place as planned.
When asked about Obaidul Quader's statement that the information regarding the Prottoy scheme becoming effective from 1 July of this year is incorrect, Md Golam Mostafa, member of the National Pension Authority, told TBS, "I am not aware of this."
Earlier, on 13 March, the government introduced the Prottoy scheme for employees who join public universities and other institutions that fall under the scheme from 1 July 2024 onwards. However, those who joined these institutions before 1 July 2024 will continue to receive pension benefits as before.
During the budget announcement for FY25, the finance minister stated that government employees would also be brought under the universal pension system. Those appointed to government jobs from 1 July 2025 will be compulsorily included in the Sebak scheme, which will also cover teachers at government schools and colleges. The benefits of this new scheme have not yet been finalised.
University teachers have expressed a preference for inclusion in the Sebak scheme instead of the Prottoy scheme, believing that the Sebak scheme will offer more benefits.
The Dhaka University Teachers Association argues that the Prottoy scheme creates discrimination among teachers.
The benefits in this scheme are significantly fewer than those in the existing pension system, leading to a disparity between new and old university teachers, which could harm teachers' self-esteem. They warn that this disparity might deter talented individuals from entering the teaching profession, thereby pushing the quality of education to deterioration, the association says.
They also point out that the Sebak scheme is being introduced for government employees one year after teachers are included in the Prottoy scheme. If the government wanted to avoid discrimination between the two schemes, it could have included teachers in the Sebak scheme as well.
