Education and Primary and Mass Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon today said there should be a "regulation" to stop non-government teachers from participating in local government elections, aiming to improve the quality of education.
“Teachers will remain in the teaching profession and if they participate in the elections, they will go into politics — if the two run together, the quality of education will be diminished,” he said.
The education minister made the comments while responding to questions from journalists after joining an event at a hotel in Dhaka on Thursday morning.
Earlier, the "GPE System Transformation Grant (STG)" and "Multiplier Grant" were formally announced. The event was organised jointly by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), UNESCO, UNICEF, ADB, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education.
Sharing his own experience about teachers’ participation in polls, the education minister said a large number of teachers participated in the local government elections for more than 4,000 chairman posts and 493 Upazila Parishad elections, which severely affected classroom education.
The Election Commission (EC) should have a regulation so that teachers cannot participate in the local government elections.
“If they want to participate, they should quit their jobs. The investment and training that the state is providing for teachers should be properly used in building a beautiful nation," he said.
Regarding the HSC and equivalent examinations beginning today, Milon said, "Our Higher Secondary Examination started from 10 am today. We have closed-circuit (CC) cameras and monitoring cells, so now we no longer have to go to every centre to guard it.”
“Teachers are vigilant, guardians are aware and the police department is using body-worn cameras. Students are also aware. We believe that they will not resort to any unfair practices anymore,” he said.
About the dropout rate of a section of regular students in this year's HSC examination, the minister said in the past, it was a normal trend for girls to get married or boys to go to work after SSC or HSC.
“We are looking at this dropout issue with great importance. In the coming days, classroom education and the number of teachers will be further increased, and the syllabus will be arranged beautifully,” he said.
At the event, a total of $ 98.85 million grants were officially announced under the GPE System Transformation Grant (STG) and Multiplier in Bangladesh.
State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj, Education Adviser to the Prime Minister Dr Mahdi Amin, Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division Abdul Khaleque, Secretary of the Technical and Madrasa Education Division Md Daud Miah spoke as special guests at the event.
Secretary of the Primary and Mass Education Ministry Md Shakhawat Hossain presided over the event.
