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Pay Package

Agri scientists not happy

Reaz Ahmad
Agriculture scientists working in public sector research stations have denounced a government move to provide them with a special increment in salaries and recreation benefits.
Some 1,700 scientists at 11 agro-research institutions under the National Agricultural Research System (Nars) have said nothing short of a long-promised special incentive package would do.
They spoke their hearts out through the heads of all these institutions and the chief of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (Bare) who had a meeting with Agriculture Secretary Dr SM Nazmul Islam at the Secretariat yesterday.
The Bare is the apex body of the Nars under the Ministry of Agriculture, and it coordinates activities of the 11 agroresearch institutions.
The government move came at a time when it is basking in the recent successes in agriculture science but the agroresearch institutions are plagued by brain drain due to years of neglect and lack of incentive for pursuing research and development.
Back-to-back successes in jute and fungi genome sequencings and release of zinc-enriched rice made the nation proud in recent years before the world community.
Administrators overseeing the Nars expressed worry at agriculture scientists' quitting jobs and going abroad. They attributed this to the government's failure to announce a long-committed special incentive package for the scientists.
Unhappy at poor pay package and other facilities at
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home, and attracted by greater opportunities abroad, at least 300 scientists went into selfretirement from the public research institutions under theNars.
"The government has increased the retirement age of scientists working at Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) from 59 years to 67 years whereas, we've (agri-scientists) long been promised of such incentives but nothing has been done so far," Director General of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) Dr Md Syedul Islam told The Daily Star.
Dr Rafiqul Islam Mondal, who heads Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (Bari), the biggest of all agro-research institutions in the country, said the agriculture ministry has recently taken a list of 750 scientists working in the Bari to provide them with special increments in sala-
ries in recognition of their good jobs.
"But it is more important for us that the government addresses the issues like enhancement of agriscientists' retirement age and giving them in situ promotions as in the public universities," said Rafiqul.
The Bari pursues research and development of as many as 203 crops grown in Bangladesh.
The other agro-research institutions are Bangladesh Jute Research Institute, Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture, Bangladesh Sugarcane Research Institute , Soil Resources Development Institute , Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute , Bangladesh Forest Research Institute , Bangladesh Tea Research Institute and Bangladesh Sericulture Research and Training Institute.
Many scientists of these institutions told this corre-
spondent that they would refuse to accept any special increment in salaries and recreation benefits, as planned by the government, if incentives like increase of retirement age and in situ promotions are not announced.
Asked about agriscientists decision of not accepting anything short of the previously promised incentives from the govern-ment, Bare Executive Chairman Dr Wais Kabir admitted that he has heard about the scientists' rejection of special increment.
"For the last four years, we've pleaded with the government and in turn it assured us of special incentives but to no avail. So, the heads of all the Nars institutions today (Thursday) once again reminded the government, through the agriculture secretary, of its promise," said Wais.
The scientists working in the 11 Nars institutions do not get promotion unless higher posts all vacant. This
has long been a serious disincentive, even prompting a Bare scientist to quit job and pursue a career in politics. And he is now a minister.
"But, if in situ promotion policy is followed as in the public universities, we'll get promoted on the basis of evaluation of our work after certain periods," explained one scientist.
At a reception Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina hosted on June 24, 2010 for the scientists who decoded jute genome, she said, "We will take special measures so that researchers do not face any trouble due to limitation of job tenure and limited salary."
Dr Maqsudul Alam, the celebrated geneticist and man behind the country's success in jute research, said recently that scientists cannot pursue science as long their families have to worry about their poor earnings.