Masum Billah:
A grand rally was held on 07 October 2025 at Shurawardy Uddayan on the occasion of World Teachers’ Day, where teachers gathered with the demand of annihilating discrepancies lying in the education sector, deciding retirement age 65, bringing Non-MPO institutions into MPO and MPO teachers and staff to be nationalised. Acting Chairman of BNP Tarique Rahman said that if they were allowed to run the state, they would do everything within the government’s ability to ensure the financial security of the teachers. At the same time, they will form the ‘Education Reform Commission’, putting technical education at the centre stage. He added that if the state failed to ensure the financial security of the teachers, we would not achieve the desired results. We see his speech and promise contain reasonable thoughts devoid of emotions.
He has mentioned several times technical education that I appreciate, as large numbers of graduates having heavy potentials with honours degrees depend on their parents’ income, remaining unemployed for years together. That proves a burden on society. They need to earn something to support themselves, their families and society. We need to popularise technical education. If some of them want to satisfy their demand to receive higher education in general, line can also be entertained through private study or night classes or such type of alternative ways. However, technical education should be the focus point that Md. Tareq Rahman has tried to mean. He said that many teachers talked about MPO, many nationalisations. Moreover, more teachers waiting outside this association may have some more demands. BNP morally agrees to these demands. A nation cannot go ahead keeping teachers financially weak. It is also true that the way our education and teachers are going, bringing sudden change proves difficult. So, Tareq Rahamn has very judiciously said that they would do everything for the teachers, keeping pace with the state’s ability and situation.
He also said that to survive in this continuously competitive world, technical education is a crying need along with moral and religious values. He also said that all the good examples of the past can be accommodated to make a good walking history of education. Our merit, knowledge and science to be enriched. Our state must be established on a knowledgeable society, and teachers are the principal tools to make that base of the state. When these tools prove weak, it is really difficult to construct the base of education. When teachers remain in an unpleasant situation, it becomes almost impossible for them to teach in a peaceful and joyful environment.
Education must not be based on books only; it should be based on practical knowledge and skills. BNP is working on these aspects of education where teachers can establish themselves as role model in society with confidence. The teaching profession can never be just an alternative, casual and helpless profession, but rather must be treated as a different profession than others. His party is working to attract the real meritorious students to this profession. Mr Treq Rahman says that his party is working based on a real plan and certain criteria for the development of teachers and education, as without the development of teachers and education, no nation can go forward, whatever development plan it takes. And he also said that to banish corruption from society, work must start from educational institutions. I want to add that our educational institutions are the lighthouse of society. If we could have taught morality, idealism and values of our graduates, we would not have sunk in the ocean of corruption that we experience today. All sorts of professionals have to come through educational institutions. If they had received real and moral education, its reflection must have been in society. It is not possible to create a corruption-free and ideal society only by the teachers. They need state support and sponsorship. Mr Rahman has emphasised this point. The Secretary General of BNP has pointed out another good point. He said that on special days, the President and Prime Minister invite people from all walks of life, where primary and secondary level teachers are not included. He proposed to do it so that we appreciate it, as it also indicates teachers’ empowerment and state recognition.
The principal demand of the non-government teachers is to nationalise education. What does it actually mean? Does it mean all kinds of teachers and educational institutions are to be run absolutely by the state? Does it mean all sorts of teachers will be government employees? If these are so, does the state have the ability to nurture all sorts of teachers and educational institutions? Or, do the teachers want just secondary-level teachers and institutions to be nationalised? If it is so, what about intermediate and graduation level institutions and teachers? These points are still shrouded in mystery. But I think nationalisation to be done up to the intermediate level, but it is interesting whenever teachers’ demonstration takes place, mostly the secondary level teachers lead those. What does it mean?
Our experience and practical situation that prevail around us say that to run something by the state means no service, no quality, no responsibility, no accountability. It means nobody is for anybody. As we see all the government-run institutions. So, there must be a complete and clear plan and proposal to be submitted to the nation by the teacher leaders on how these issues are to be resolved. On the occasion of ‘World Teachers’ Day’, one retired director of DPE said that she discovered some government primary schools take non-government school students to appear in the primary scholarship exam, and they obtain a scholarship. Students of government primary do not get a scholarship, but they take the credit. This is another example of the government’s primary schools’ miserable situation.
In spite of the facts mentioned above, education should be nationalised up to the intermediate level at least. However, with the nationalisation, there must be a sound prescription so that the education at the secondary and higher secondary level doesn’t show the performance as our government primary schools exhibit. We see, the state bears the burden of the financial security of primary school teachers, whereas guardians opt for non-government primary schools for educating their children. When this is the fact, what’s the necessity of nurturing primary education as free and compulsory? We have seen that government primary school teachers have agreed to the point that their education is very low standard when they did not allow children beyond government primary schools to sit for the primary scholarship examination this year. Many teachers have given their opinion on Facebook that poor children who read in government primary schools will not be able to compete with the children studying in non-government schools. When this is the case, was it necessary to nationalise it? Secondary school teachers having similar and, in most cases, greater academic background don’t enjoy facilities, so they are supposed to claim to be nationalised, which is usual. We know a government hospital means no treatment, but the staff’s salary from the state must be paid; a government office means no service, even if they provide service, it is not done without any extra money. These practical examples lie before us. Still, we want schools to be made government means lowering the quality of education further. There will be a huge problem with the service rule, which will trigger further movement and agitation; however, there will be no rally, no agitation for bettering the quality of education. Still, education, at least up to the intermediate level, should be nationalised to bring the teachers and staff under the safety net of the state. It will contribute to lessening poverty, also. The pseudo-mastans and party leaders control the non-government educational institutions, and they harass the teachers time and again, but the state has turned a deaf ear towards that matter. Teachers want nationalisation not only for financial security but also to get rid of these so-called committee members. We all want to end this malady.
(The writer is the President of the English Teachers’ Association of Bangladesh (ETAB). He is a former faculty member of Ghatail Cantonment College, Sylhet, Cumilla and Mirzapur Cadet College, Rajuk Uttara Model College, BOU, Education Expert- BRAC Education and Country Director- VAB Bangladesh.)
