Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon on Sunday said the government is committed to ensuring the prompt payment of retirement and welfare benefits to retired teachers and employees of private educational institutions, aiming to clear the existing backlog within six months once the required funds are allocated.

Responding to a question from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami MP Md Abdul Wares (Gaibandha-5) in Parliament, the minister said around 67,000 applications for retirement benefits are currently pending with the Non-Government Teacher Employee Retirement Benefit Board, UNB reports.

He said each retired teacher or employee receives an average retirement benefit of about Tk 1.3 million (Tk 13 lakh).

According to Milon, settling all pending applications requires approximately Tk 8,710 crore (Tk 87.1 billion), while the retirement fund currently holds only around Tk 1,300 crore (Tk 13 billion), leaving a shortfall of nearly Tk 7,410 crore (Tk 74.1 billion).

He also informed the House that about 45,000 applications have remained pending with the Non-government Teachers and Employees Welfare Trust from August 2023 to June 21, 2026.

The minister said clearing those applications will require a one-off allocation of around Tk 3,150 crore (Tk 31.5 billion).

He said the government has already initiated measures to address the financial crisis facing both the Retirement Benefits Board and the Welfare Trust by arranging the necessary budgetary allocation.

Milon said several administrative reforms have also been undertaken to speed up the settlement process, including reactivating the software system, increasing manpower, expanding online services and introducing direct payments to teachers' and employees' bank accounts through the iBAS++ financial management system.

"If the necessary funds are allocated, it will be possible to dispose of all currently pending retirement benefit applications within six months," he told Parliament.

The minister added that the government's long-term objective is to ensure that retired teachers and employees of private schools, colleges and madrasahs receive their retirement and welfare benefits within three to six months of retirement.

In his question, Abdul Wares highlighted the prolonged suffering of retired teachers of private schools, colleges and madrasahs who have been waiting for years to receive their retirement benefits and asked whether the government would ensure payments within three to six months of retirement.