The education minister urged lawmakers not to focus solely on establishing general education institutions and to give greater importance to technical education.
Police set up barricades near the High Court area to block MPO-listed teachers and employees’ ‘hunger march’ on 19 October 2025. Photo: Mehedi Hasan/TBS
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Police set up barricades near the High Court area to block MPO-listed teachers and employees’ ‘hunger march’ on 19 October 2025. Photo: Mehedi Hasan/TBS
The government plans to gradually bring private educational institutions under the Monthly Pay Order (MPO) scheme from the 2026–27 fiscal year, subject to budget allocations, Education Minister A N M Ehsanul Haque Milon told parliament today (15 March).
Responding to a question from lawmakers during the second day of the session of the Jatiya Sangsad, the minister said both pending and new applications from non-government educational institutions would be considered under the policy guidelines.
According to the minister, the inclusion of educational institutions under the MPO scheme is an ongoing process of the government. He said that during the tenure of the interim government, 3,615 private educational institutions applied online to be enlisted under the scheme for the 2025–26 fiscal year.
The current government has decided to review both pending and new applications.
“From the 2026–27 fiscal year, subject to receiving the necessary budget allocation, all applications – both new and previously submitted – will be re-examined, and necessary steps will be taken to bring eligible institutions under the MPO scheme in accordance with the MPO policy,” the minister said in parliament.
During the session, lawmakers presented statistics on schools and colleges without MPO coverage in various parts of the country, including Mirzapur Upazila, Chirirbandar Upazila, and Khansama Upazila.
In response, the minister assured parliament that institutions in those areas would also gradually be brought under the MPO scheme if they met the required policy conditions.
Call to prioritise technical education
The issue of teachers at the honours and master’s levels in private colleges not receiving MPO benefits for a long time was also raised during the parliamentary session.
Addressing the matter, the education minister urged lawmakers not to focus solely on establishing general education institutions and to give greater importance to technical education.
“Instead of being overly interested in opening honours and master’s degree colleges, I would request you to also take initiatives in your respective areas to expand technical education and build a skilled workforce,” he said.
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