Bangladesh's foreign mission officials are entitled to a maximum annual education allowance of US$20,000 for two children studying abroad.
Now, they are seeking similar facilities, equivalent to local currency of around Tk 2.4 million, so that their children can pursue study at the institutions in Bangladesh.
If their children study in Bangladesh, they are not entitled to such allowance at present.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) recently requested the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to consider providing the allowance, arguing that it is often impossible for them to meet the high education expenses in the foreign educational institutions with the existing allowance.
If one continues to support their children's education in the countries they are posted or in a third country, they have to borrow money and become indebted, according to the communication document, a copy of which was obtained by the FE.
Such a proposal, however, raised the eyebrows of public expenditure experts and anti-corruption watchdogs as the amount (estimated to be around Tk 100,000 per month for each child) would be three to four times higher than Bangladesh's most expensive schools and universities.
And that, 200 per cent higher than what other government officers and employees are entitled to for their children's education, they said.
This is for the first time the foreign mission officers and employees sought such allowance as many of them are often compelled to send their children home to pursue their study at local institutions.
Many of this group of children of the mission officials and employees also cannot, in some cases, get admitted to the foreign institutions due to language problems or other reasons, the document reads.
Presently, the officers or other staff are entitled to the allowance for their children only when they are posted in the missions abroad, and an eligible student's age limit is 23 years or completion of graduation - whichever comes first.
The home country is not considered for providing such allowance, prompting the mission officers/employees to try sending their children to foreign countries.
Through this practice, according to the document, Bangladesh's educational institutions are being devalued and branded negatively.
Contacted, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Iftekharuzzaman stressed on checking first whether other government officials or employees get such an allowance or not. "If not, it is discriminatory," he told the FE.
According to officials, the officers and employees of other ministries and government agencies get only Tk 500 per month as an education allowance for each of their children.
Mr Iftekhar said if the allowance of $20,000 is not distributed as per 'actual expenditure', then it could be said that the allowance has been sought only to earn money in different forms.
He said the costs of educational institutions in Bangladesh should be considered while fixing such allowances.
At the same time, there should not be any discrimination with other government officials and employees, he said.
When contacted, former Ambassador M Humayun Kabir said the amount proposed to meet the local education expenses of two children is rational, but it should be disbursed upon receipt of the necessary invoices issued by the educational institutions.
He thinks the government may consider even higher allocation, if needed, to be disbursed against such billing documents.
Mr Kabir mentioned that the education expenditure of some countries including Japan is very high. The current amount allocated for two children who study in a posting country is not enough.
Non-availability of education allowance for studying in the home country and language problems in higher education abroad sometimes motivate officers and employees to try getting posted only in the English-speaking countries, according to the document. It is not often helpful in implementing the posting policy.
If education allowance is provided to the children of the officers/employees working in the mission to study in their home country, many would be interested to study in Bangladesh.
In these cases, the government's money will be saved and foreign exchange expenditure will be reduced, said the document.
The proposed education allowance for studying in the home country will be applicable only for the children of officers and employees working in the Bangladesh missions abroad.
Meanwhile, a section of the officials, who worked in different Bangladesh missions, said that in most of the countries, the entire allocation for education purposes is not required as the children of officials concerned get diplomatic concession or tuition fee waivers.
They further said the officials have to submit an actual academic receipt/invoice to enjoy the funds allocated for study purposes.
MoFA Director (Policy & Organisation) Tahsina Afrin Sharmin said a proposal has been sent to the finance ministry for approval. Necessary policies/rules will be set after approval from the government. More scrutiny/fine-tuning will also be done regarding the issue.
Replying to a question, she claimed that there would not be any additional cost for the government if the proposal is implemented. The country's money will be spent in the country.
She mentioned that currently the study expenditure is paid by the missions concerned as per the invoice of the institutions concerned.
Some Tk 0.8-1.6 million is required to complete four years of honours courses at private institutions/ universities, according to information from universities in Bangladesh. More or less Tk 0.3 million is required annually to meet the study expenses at schools and colleges, barring some exceptions.
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