The education minister, Nurul Islam Nahid, on Thursday said the government had decided to introduce a separate pay scale or pay commission for teachers. Referring to the Awami League’s election pledge to introduce a separate pay scale for teachers, Nahid said, ‘It will not be implemented now.’ In reply to a question, he told newsmen in his office the government was yet to set any date for the formation of the commission or pay sale for teachers. ‘We are now thinking about the implementation of the seventh pay scale for government employees announced yesterday,’ he said on Thursday.

Non-government teachers will also be drawing increased salary in line with the seventh pay scale as government teachers will do, he said. Nahid also said if teachers were paid adequately, meritorious graduates would take up teaching as profession and the quality of education would be ensured. He also said the seventh pay commission had been formed much before the government assumed office and that was why the government failed to incorporate anything for teachers into it.

Asked about the findings of the committee that investigated the fire in the NCTB warehouse at Tejgaon in Dhaka on October 18, he said, ‘It was definitely an act of sabotage.’ ‘A vested quarter started fire in the warehouse of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board, in which books and papers worth more than Tk 7 crore were burnt, to foil the government’s plan for free distribution of textbook at the beginning of the academic year 2010,’ he said.

‘The investigation committee has, however, not specifically named any individuals responsible for the fire that started burning October 18 and continued till October 22. We have requested the home ministry to find out the individuals involved in the act of sabotage,’ he said. ‘Three BUET professors have been asked to establish whether the warehouse building could further be used.’

The government formed the seven-member committee, headed by additional secretary of the education ministry Razia Begum to investigate the fire and submit the final report in 15 days. The committee submitted its rep-ort to the minister on Sunday, six days after the deadline. The government has plans to distribute about 19 crore copies of primary and secondary textbooks free among the students at the beginning of the academic year 2010.

-New Age