Teacher recruitment, promotions stalled due to pending cases: Milon

Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon today (17 June) told Parliament that the recruitment and promotion of thousands of teachers, as well as appointments to key administrative positions in educational institutions across the country, have remained stalled for a prolonged period due to various legal complications.

Making a statement under Rule 300 of the Rules of Procedure in the Jatiya Sangsad, the minister said thousands of cases related to the education sector are pending in courts, creating significant obstacles to recruitment and administrative processes.

The statement came after ruling party lawmaker Zainul Abdin Farroque raised concerns on a point of order regarding the acute shortage of teachers and the legal complexities surrounding recruitment.

Milon, who also oversees the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, said the recruitment process for 32,500 teachers, along with separate initiatives to appoint 2,600 and 17,000 teachers, has remained suspended because of pending cases.

“Since assuming office, I have been working to resolve these legal complications. From the very first week after taking charge, I personally visited the court premises and made efforts to address these issues,” he said.

However, the minister noted that the cases have yet to be listed before the Appellate Division, making it impossible to proceed with recruitment despite an acute teacher shortage nationwide.

He said appointments of heads of institutions through the Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA), as well as the recruitment of college principals and heads of educational institutions, have also been halted because of ongoing litigation.

Milon added that the recruitment of office assistants-cum-night guards at primary schools has similarly been suspended.

He told Parliament that thousands of education-related cases are currently under judicial consideration, seriously hampering administrative activities in both the education and primary education sectors.

The minister further said nearly 33,000 headteacher posts have already fallen vacant across the country. Yet many qualified teachers are retiring before receiving promotions due to legal disputes and complications related to promotion processes.

“There are many teachers across Bangladesh who have attained the qualifications required to become headteachers, yet they are not receiving promotions. The legal complexities are preventing these issues from being resolved,” he said.

Regarding administrative transfers in primary schools, Milon said authority for such transfers has been decentralised to the upazila, district and divisional levels.

Reiterating the government’s commitment to resolving the situation, he said achieving the desired progress in recruitment and promotion activities will remain difficult until the pending court cases are disposed of. “The government is making its highest efforts to address the situation. However, meaningful progress in recruitment and promotion will be difficult until these cases are settled.”