The education ministry is actively considering a suggestion of a parliamentary watchdog to make MPs the heads of the public schools and colleges as they are now chairing the governing bodies of non-government secondary schools and colleges in their constituencies.
Officials of the public administration ministry told a parliamentary standing committee meeting Monday that the education ministry had been processing the recommendations on making the MPs the chairmen of the public schools and colleges.
The MPs currently heads up to four private schools and colleges each in their respective constituencies. Allegations are rife that the lawmakers’ intervention results in the appointment of the low calibre teachers in exchange of money and admission of poor quality students.
Besides, the teachers get involved in politics due to the influence of the MPs.
“The ministry officials have informed us that the education ministry has been implementing the decisions to make the MPs the chairmen of the public schools and colleges,” Md Barkat Ullah Bulu, a BNP MP and a member of the parliamentary watchdog on public administration ministry, told the Dhaka Tribune after the meeting Monday.
He said the next meeting, possibly the last, would follow up on the implementation of the decision.
Earlier, the parliamentary committee on public undertaking made a similar recommendation.
At present, the government is the sole authority to hire and fire teachers in 317 government secondary schools, 265 colleges, 251 vocational institutions and three madrasahs across the country.
Awami League lawmaker Khandaker Asaduzzaman, the standing committee chairman, presided over the meeting attended by HN Ashequr Rahman, RAM Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury and Jahanara Begum—all from the ruling Awami League.
Most of the attending MPs observed that an MP should head at least four public educational institutes, but the watchdog refrained from making any recommendations.
Rasheda K Chowdhury, who heads Campaign for Popular Education, an education promotion organisation, told the Dhaka Tribune that allowing MPs to chair the managing committees would invite bribery in appointment of teachers and admission of students.
“MPs can rather monitor the performance of the managing committees.
“Our experiences show that associates of MPs establish a tough control on educational institutes, resulting in deterioration of standard of education,” she said.
Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, an adviser to a previous caretaker government, told the Dhaka Tribune that such decision would further ruin the country’s education system.
“It will be stepping in the wrong direction. There are many instances that (private) good schools or colleges flopped after local MPs were made heads of managing committees,” he said.
He said making the persons with no knowledge on educational management top policymakers of schools and colleges was one of the factors for the falling quality of education in Bangladesh.
