Staff Reporter :
The government has approved a significant rise in honorarium and training allowances – in some cases doubling the rates – for in-house subject-based training programmes conducted by ministries, divisions, and subordinate offices.
According to a Finance Ministry notification issued today, the last such revision was in May 2019.
The session fee for trainers at grade-3 level or joint secretary and above will increase by 44percent, from Tk 2,500 to Tk 3,600 per hour. For trainers at grade-4, grade-5, deputy secretary, and lower levels, the fee will raise 50percent, from Tk 2,000 to Tk 3,000 per hour.
Trainees from grade-9 and above will now receive Tk 1,200 per session, up from Tk 600, while those in grade-10 and below will receive Tk 1,000, double the previous Tk 500 allowance.
Course directors’ honorarium has been raised 33percent to Tk 2,000 per day, and course coordinators’ by 25percent to Tk 1,500. Support staff will see the largest percentage increase – 100percent – from Tk 500 to Tk 1,000 per person per day.
The decision has drawn sharp criticism from Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB). Its Executive Director, Iftekharuzzaman, called the move “an abuse of power” and “ethically indefensible.”
He argued that such allowances often lead to inflated budgets, unnecessary projects, and excessive spending under the pretext of training both domestically and abroad undermining transparency and accountability.
“Government officials already draw salaries and benefits to perform their duties. Receiving training is part of their professional responsibility; there is no justification for paying extra allowances,” he said.
Given the current economic strain – marked by inflation, budget deficits, and rising public hardship – he labelled the move a “waste of public resources” and urged the government to end what he termed a harmful “allowance culture.
