Tk285 Crore Short in Teachers' Festival Allowance, Tk516 Crore in Excess Books

The Ministry of Finance has rejected a formal recommendation from Education Minister Dr. A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon to increase the festive allowance for MPO-listed non-government school and college teachers from 50% to 60%, citing a shortage of funds. Conversely, the Directorate of Education Audit has uncovered massive financial irregularities at the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB), which spent Tk 516.34 crore on printing textbooks that were entirely outside actual institutional demand.

The disclosure, first brought to light by The Daily Campus, has sparked intense resentment among MPO-listed teachers and staff across the country. Educators point out the stark discrepancy where the government claimed an inability to source Tk 285.78 crore to boost teacher welfare, yet silently tolerated a gross misappropriation of over Tk 516 crore due to NCTB's over-printing procurement schemes.

Expressing his frustration on social media, prominent teacher leader Tofazzal Ahmed wrote:

"The proposal to increase the festive allowance of teachers and employees by a mere 10%, requiring an additional Tk 285.78 crore, has been stalled under the pretext of a financial crisis. On the other hand, the audit report of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) reveals a catastrophic financial loss of Tk 516.34 crore solely due to printing books beyond actual demand."

Habibur Rahman Habib, another MPO teacher, echoed similar sentiments, stating that MPO-listed educators have been systematically discriminated against since inception. While thousands of crores are wasted in various sectors, basic rights like house rent, medical allowances, and festival bonuses remain stagnant.

Audit Uncovers Systematic NCTB Procurement Inflation

The Education Audit Directorate recently concluded its comprehensive audit of the NCTB for the 2024–2025 financial year. By cross-matching official demand letters, work orders, Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU) data, and evaluation reports approved by the Head of Procuring Entity (HOPE), auditors exposed an institutional failure to maintain statutory procurement laws.

The audit systematically scrutinized 741 individual lot evaluation reports concerning the printing, binding, and supply of textbooks for the 2024–2025 academic session across Secondary, SSC, Vocational, Ebtedayee, Dakhil, Dakhil Vocational, and Braille formats.

The investigation revealed the following data discrepancies:

• Total Work Orders Issued: Tk 1,862.35 crore awarded to various suppliers for 30.89 crore books.

• Completed Deliveries: 30.40 crore books finished as per completion certificates.

• Actual Requisition: The combined field demand from the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) and the Department of Social Services was exactly 21,97,40,611 books.

• Annual Procurement Plan (APP) Target: Artificially set higher by NCTB at 24,48,08,238 books.

According to the audit report, a high-level ministerial meeting on March 7, 2024, explicitly directed the NCTB to format its Annual Procurement Plan in strict accordance with the Public Procurement Rules (PPR)-2008 and baseline field demands.

Instead of aligning orders with the actual requirements submitted by directorates, the NCTB management bypassed internal constraints to place inflated print orders. This directly resulted in a loss of Tk 516,34,41,211 from the state exchequer.

Official Silence and Call for Recovery

The audit authority noted that the actions taken by NCTB constitute a direct breach of the Public Procurement Act (PPA)-2006 and PPR-2008. Furthermore, when the audit teams sought a formal explanation regarding this inflation, the NCTB top brass refused to issue a defense. The audit directorate remarked that this non-compliance is a violation of Rule 59 of the Audit Code and Rule 437 of the Subsidiary Rules framed under Treasury Rules.

The final audit report has strongly recommended that the financial loss incurred from purchasing textbooks beyond actual field demand must be recovered directly from the personal funds of the procurement officers involved and deposited back into the government treasury.

When contacted by The Daily Campus for a statement, NCTB Member (Finance) Aziz Haider Bhuiyan deflected responsibility, saying:

"I have assumed this charge recently. I have neither received any such audit report nor am I personally aware of the findings. Our Secretary oversees administrative operations; you may speak with him."

NCTB Secretary Professor Shah Muhammad Firoz Al Ferdous stated that the institution has not formally received the final audit draft yet. Once received, it will be forwarded to the relevant desk for official review. Meanwhile, repeated telephone calls to the personal mobile phone of NCTB Chairman Professor Mohammad Fakhrul Maula found the device powered off.