images

Education

DU Officials Demand 300% Basic Pay Hike in New Pay Scale

Wednesday, 29 October 2025 , 09:58 AM

Teachers and officials of Dhaka University (DU) have demanded a 300% increase in the basic pay structure for the proposed new national pay scale. Recently, various proposals regarding the salaries and benefits of DU faculty, officials, and staff were submitted to the Chairman of the National Pay Commission. The information was disclosed by Professor Dr. M. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, Convener of the university's Pay Proposal Committee, at a press conference held at the university on Tuesday (October 28). The committee proposed a 20-grade pay structure. Context and Justification. At the press conference, Professor Jahangir Alam stated that the 7th National Pay Scale in Bangladesh was implemented from July 1, 2009. Subsequently, the 8th Pay Scale was implemented from July 1, 2015, with an increase of nearly 200% in basic salary. Although new pay scales have historically been announced approximately every five years, a decade has passed since 2015 without the introduction of a new one.

He pointed out that over the past 10 years, the cost of living, inflation, and overall expenses have increased dramatically. He estimated that if two new pay scales had been implemented in 2020 and 2025, the salary would have increased by about 400%. Based on this, the salary for the 1st Grade would have been BDT 156,000 in 2020 and BDT 312,000 in 2025, while the 20th Grade would have reached BDT 16,500 and BDT 33,000, respectively.

Proposed Salary Structure (Current vs. Proposed)

The proposed new structure calls for the following basic pay changes across the 20 grades (all figures in Bangladeshi Taka - BDT): 

Grade 8th National Pay Scale (Basic Pay) Proposed 9th National Pay Scale (Basic Pay)
1st 78,000 (Fixed) 94,400
2nd 66,000 – 76,490 80,000 – 92,537
3rd 56,000 – 74,400 67,760 – 89,024
4th 50,000 – 71,200 60,600 – 86,152
5th 43,000 – 69,850 52,030 – 84,550
6th 35,500 – 67,010 42,955 – 81,083
7th 29,000 – 63,410 35,090 – 76,727
8th 23,000 – 55,470 27,830 – 67,121
9th 22,000 – 53,060 26,620 – 64,203
10th 16,000 – 38,640 19,360 – 46,754
11th 12,000 – 30,230 14,520 – 36,580
12th 11,000 – 26,590 13,310 – 32,174
13th 11,000 – 26,590 13,310 – 32,174
14th 10,200 – 24,680 12,342 – 29,866
15th 9,800 – 23,490 11,858 – 28,422
16th 9,300 – 22,490 11,333 – 27,213
17th 9,000 – 21,800 10,890 – 26,378
18th 8,000 – 20,010 9,680 – 24,212
19th 8,000 – 16,850 9,680 – 20,348
20th 8,250 – 20,010 9,983 – 24,212

Implementation Timeline

The National Pay Commission was formed on July 27 and aims to submit its final report by this December. Sources suggest that the new pay scale could be implemented before the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election.

Related sources indicate that the national election will be held in the first half of February, and the new pay scale could become effective before that. Government employees could potentially start receiving salaries and benefits under the new scale from January 2026.

Economic Advisor Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed recently confirmed that the additional funds required to implement the Pay Commission's recommendations will be allocated in the revised budget, which is set to begin revision in December.

He added that the actual implementation depends on the gazette notification of the Pay Commission, but it is expected to become effective at the beginning of the new year.