Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday said his government will gradually increase the salaries of primary and secondary school teachers, saying better pay is essential to improve the quality of education.
Replying to a supplementary question from Cumilla-4 MP Md Abul Hasnat – better known as Hasnat Abdullah – during the Prime Minister's question-answer session in Parliament, he said the previous government had focused on constructing buildings but neglected investment in human resources.
"We found that during the authoritarian regime, buildings were constructed but there was no improvement in human resources. If we cannot properly train our primary and secondary school teachers and improve their allowances, we cannot expect them to deliver quality education," the Prime Minister said.
He said the government already has plans to provide better training for teachers.
"We have programmes and plans to improve training for both primary and secondary school teachers. At the same time, we believe their allowances (salaries) need to be increased gradually, and we will do so in phases, Insha-Allah," he said.
Explaining why higher salaries are necessary, Tarique Rahman said many primary school teachers are forced to take second jobs because their current earnings are not enough to support their families.
"We often see primary school teachers finishing classes quickly so they can go to another job or even agricultural work because it is difficult for them to run their families otherwise. Similar situations exist among secondary school teachers," he said.
The Prime Minister said teachers should be able to devote their full time and talent to students instead of seeking additional sources of income.
He also noted that the current budget allocates 2 percent of GDP to the education sector.
The parliamentary sitting began at 3:00pm with Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad in the chair. The first 30 minutes were allocated for the Prime Minister's Question Time, during which Tarique Rahman answered four starred questions and nine supplementary questions.
School uniforms for primary students
Replying to another supplementary question from MP Musammat Shammi Akther, the Prime Minister said the government plans to provide school uniforms and school bags for around 1.20 crore students of government primary schools across the country in phases.
He said the programme will gradually cover students from Classes I to V in about 65,000 government primary schools nationwide.
Jackfruit exports to China
Responding to another supplementary question, Tarique Rahman said Bangladesh signed an agreement with China during his recent visit to export jackfruits.
He said jackfruit is very popular in Bangladesh and is also liked by Chinese consumers.
Referring to his earlier visit to Malaysia, the Prime Minister said Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told him that Malaysia earns around US$1 billion annually by exporting durian to China.
"If Malaysia can do it, we can certainly export jackfruit to China and earn substantial foreign currency," he said.