United News of Bangladesh

Education Adviser Prof. Wahiduddin Mahmud has said that the long-standing hassle and inconvenience faced by MPO-enlisted teachers and employees of private educational institutions under the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education have been resolved. "This has been achieved through the introduction of the Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) system, which directly transfers salaries, retirement and welfare benefits to their bank accounts," he said. The adviser was speaking today at an event organised by the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education at the International Mother Language Institute in Dhaka. Dhaka's ties with Delhi won’t get stuck on single issue: Foreign Adviser Earlier, he inaugurated the online EFT-based transfer of MPO funds for teachers and staff. He also unveiled the online version of textbooks for the 2025 academic year on the NCTB website. The Education Adviser said, "Out of 523 books, we had to make corrections and additions to 431. Additionally, this year we opted to print the books domestically instead of outsourcing them abroad. As a result, it took some additional time." “We hope to ensure that all educational institutions receive the books within January,” he said. Bilquis Jahan Rimi, Additional Secretary, Budget-1 and National Programme Director of the Strengthening Public Financial Management Programme to Enable Service Delivery (SPFMS), made a presentation of EFT, while the session was presided over by Professor A B M Rezaul Karim, Director General of DSHE. "This initiative will eliminate delays, save time, and ensure financial transparency and accountability in the payment process," Bilquis Jahan Rimi said. Education Adviser warns of conspiracies in textbook distribution Future plans include integrating iBAS++ with the Madrasa and Technical Education Directorates and creating Personal Ledger (PL) accounts for public universities to facilitate salary payments via the EFT system. For the 2024-25 fiscal year, a budget allocation of TK 13,495.16 crore has been made for the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education. Of this, TK 4,329.97 crore has been allocated for private colleges and BDT 9,165.19 crore for schools. Additionally, TK 5,073.58 crore and TK 450 crore have been allocated to the Madrasa Education Directorate and the Technical Education Directorate, respectively. Currently, there are 19,847 MPO-listed institutions in the country, with a total of 398,068 MPO-listed teachers and staff. These include: 2,828 colleges with 68,949 MPO-listed teachers and 28,257 staff; 17,478 schools with 211,443 MPO-listed teachers and 89,419 staff; 8,229 madrasas with 138,559 MPO-listed teachers and 42,134 staff; and 2,282 technical education institutions with 16,557 MPO-listed teachers and 5,564 staff.

To address the present crisis on the economic front and ensure resilient, inclusive, and sustainable growth, the government of Bangladesh has adopted several reform initiatives to be implemented in the medium term (2025-26). The significant reform actions include: Revenue Mobilisation, Improved Expenditure Management, Monetary and External Sector Management, Financial Market Regulation and National Income Accounts, according to a budget document. The government has focused on reforms in tax policy and revenue administration. The plan is to mobilise additional tax revenue of about 1.7 percent of GDP by the end of FY 2025-26. Currently, the tax-to- GDP in the country is below ten percent. Read: Bangladesh’s economy has a dignified position now: PM Moreover, the government is focusing on untapped areas in the tax-revenue sector to enhance overall revenue while also emphasising non-tax revenue sources. The document states that fiscal management has become increasingly complex due to elevated and unpredictable inflation that has the potential to undermine the soundness of financial institutions and fiscal operations. The uncertainty surrounding prices, wages, and interest rates influence inflation through aggregate demand and expectations, which in turn posed challenges to fiscal planning and budgetary preparations. Read: 1st Circular Economy Summit in Dhaka on June 15 Besides rationalising the subsidies, there is a plan to bring down the cost of borrowing and bring efficiency in debt management, the document said. It said that the net National Savings Certificate (NSC) issuance is planned to be brought down to below 1⁄4 of total net domestic financing by FY26. The government plans to optimise cash management by expanding the coverage of the treasury single account (TSA) and the use of electronic funds transfer (EFT). Read: Govt to introduce circular economy to prevent plastic pollution: Minister    Several reform measures have been implemented including the reduction of interest rates of saving certificates, the introduction of tiered interest rates, capping issuances, and increasing taxes on earned interest, all aimed at reducing the government's interest expenditure. In FY 2021-22, the contribution from national savings certificates accounted for 0.5 percent of GDP, a decrease from 1.2 percent in FY 2020-21. Efficient cash management is also a priority to save public funds by minimising interest expenditure. To achieve this, the government is strengthening and expanding the Treasury Single Account (TSA), which is expected to facilitate better cash management, reduce interest expenses, and improve commitment controls. Read more: Increased import costs putting pressure on economy in many ways: Minister In the Monetary and External Sector Management segment, to improve monetary operations, Bangladesh Bank will adopt an interest rate corridor system. Furthermore, to increase exchange rate flexibility, Bangladesh Bank will use market-determined exchange rates for official foreign exchange transactions on behalf of the government. To strengthen the external sector balance and improve monetary sector performance, Bangladesh Bank is going to implement several reform initiatives in the medium term. Read more: Budget not based on IMF conditions: Finance Minister There will be reform activities to unify the multiple exchange rates and bring more discipline to the foreign exchange market. Bangladesh Bank will reverse the temporary margin increases for opening letters of credit on nonessential imports. The official budget document says that “With a view to establishing a risk-based banking supervision system, Bangladesh Bank will complete the pilot risk-based supervision action plan.” Read more: CPD dismisses budget's projections on growth, inflation, revenue collection Also, it mentions that to improve governance and discipline in the financial market, the government will amend the Bank Companies Act and Finance Companies Act in line with best practices. The amended Bank Companies Act was accordingly passed last week. For better transparency, Bangladesh Bank will publish banks' distressed assets in the annual financial stability report. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics has taken the initiative to publish quarterly GDP for having a clear view of national income accounts. Read more: Doing our best to keep economy going amid global recession: PM Hasina

MetLife Bangladesh, a leader of life insurance company has launched a unique initiative, 3-hour claim decision service for COVID-19 death claims with coverage up to Tk 20 lakh. With this fast track service, along with receiving the claim decision in 3 hours, beneficiaries of deceased policyholders will also receive the claim amount in 3 working days through Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT). Also read: MetLife Bangladesh gets new General Manager At this stage, the service is applicable for only individual policies, said a press release.  This 3-Hour Claims Decision service can be availed by sending an email to  [email protected] with a simple set of documents. Beneficiaries will receive SMS notifications on the progress of their claim requests. More information will be available at its webpage: https://www.metlife.com.bd/three-hour-claims0/ Read IBBL gets insurance claims for deceased employees