All public varsity teachers to retire at 65, says PM

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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced Sunday that the retirement age of 65 would be applicable to teachers of all the 34 public universities of the country, reports UNB. The announcement came when a delegation of Federation of Bangladesh University Teachers' Association (FBUTA) met her at her office and expressed their grievances as there is discrepancy in their retirement age. Association president Prof Khandaker Bazlul Haque led the delegation. Teachers of only four universities -- Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi and Jahangirnagar -- out of 34, used to enjoy the retirement age of 65 while age limit in other universities is still 60. All public The Prime Minister told the delegation that her government attaches top most priority to education sector. She underscored the need for maintaining congenial academic atmosphere on all campuses. She requested the teachers to give much more attention to research works for greater interest of the nation. "Without fundamental research works, a nation can not progress much," she observed. She observed that researchers should be given special facilities as research works or researchers do not have any specific time limit. Hasina said despite limited resources, the government is committed to providing special facilities to the researchers. She said the government is working to build a modern and educated Bangladesh which will be economically prosperous and environmentally safe. Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith and Education Adviser to the Prime Minister Alauddin Ahmed were present, among others.