3 Years Old Server Notice Still on Welfare Trust Website

People applying online for welfare benefits for retired teachers and employees are finding a server shutdown notice dating back three years on the relevant website. A notice stating that the server would remain down until 4 pm on May 18, 2023, is still displayed in 2026, raising questions about the monitoring and maintenance of the Private Educational Institutions Teachers and Employees Welfare Trust’s online services. Applicants are asking when the server will return to normal.

The homepage of the trust’s online application portal, apps.ngte-welfaretrust.gov.bd, still states that server upgrade work is underway and that the service would remain unavailable until 4 pm on May 18, 2023. The notice also apologises for the temporary inconvenience.

The notice reads: “The online application server of the Private Educational Institutions Teachers and Employees Welfare Trust is undergoing an upgrade. The server will remain down until 4:00 pm on May 18, 2023. We apologise for the temporary inconvenience.”

Retired teachers and employees apply through the trust to receive the welfare benefits to which they are entitled. The continued display of the outdated notice has therefore created uncertainty over whether the online application service is currently operational. It has also raised questions about whether the website’s information is being updated regularly.

Applicants have sought a clear explanation from the authorities about the server’s current status, whether online applications are being accepted, and why the old notice has not been removed.

Three teachers from different places, on the condition of anonymity, have complained that upon visiting the Private Education Institution Teachers and Employees Welfare Trust website to apply for their service-period welfare trust dues from home, clicking the online application link on the homepage merely displays a "site update" notice. Consequently, they are unable to submit their applications. This situation is as perplexing as it is troublesome.

Muhammad Abdur Rahim, deputy director of the Private Educational Institutions Teachers and Employees Welfare Trust, said server problems could persist until Sunday. However, when asked why the notice referring to May 18, 2023, was still visible, he ended the phone call.

The trust has not provided a detailed explanation of the nature of the server problem, the current status of online applications, or why the outdated notice remains on the website.

//DBTech/IH/MSI/MVNO//