Years of service met with uncertainty
A retired, award-winning teacher in Pabna’s Bera upazila is battling serious illness and mounting debt while অপেক্ষা করছেন long-delayed pension benefits, highlighting gaps in the teachers' welfare management.
Md Anwarul Islam, a former teacher of Nakalia Sarasia Banik High School, retired on December 4, 2023, upon reaching the age of 60. However, more than two years later, he has yet to receive his dues from the Non-Government Teachers' Employee Welfare Trust.
Once recognised as a multiple-time “Best English Teacher” in the upazila, Islam now finds himself largely bedridden, suffering from heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.
His health deteriorated sharply in recent years. He underwent pacemaker implantation in May 2023, followed by open-heart surgery in September 2024 and eye surgery in 2025. Medical cost has already exceeded Tk 13.7 lakh, forcing him to exhaust savings and take loans from relatives.
“Everything I saved is gone. Now, I am only left with a mountain of debt,” he said, appealing for urgent release of his pension funds.
Despite submitting a formal application to the welfare trust in November 2025, no clear timeline has been provided for disbursement.
Locals expressed deep concern, calling the situation a national problem.
Islam said, “I only wish to receive my dues before I die, so I can clear my debts and pass away in peace.”
