Thousands of vacant teaching and administrative positions across Bangladesh’s education sector remain unfilled due to thousands of lawsuits, education minister Ehsanul Haque Milon told the Jatiya Sangsad on Wednesday.
Making a statement under Rule 300 of the Rules of Procedure, the minister said the process of recruiting teachers to vacant posts could not be completed because of ongoing litigation.
The minister made his statement during the ninth sitting of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad's budget session, which was chaired by Deputy Speaker Kayser Kamal.
Responding to a point of order raised by Noakhali-2 lawmaker Zainul Abedin Farooque, Mr Milon said he had been trying since his first week in office to resolve the legal complexities surrounding education-related cases.
‘However, I do not know why these matters have not yet appeared on any cause list of the Appellate Division,’ he said.
The minister stated that the shortage of teachers had become a nationwide concern.
‘This is not limited to one issue,’ he added.
The appointments of heads of educational institutions through the Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority, the recruitment of college lecturers, and the appointment of support staff, including office assistants and night guards in primary schools, are all stalled because of lawsuits.
He noted that thousands of cases involving education administration and recruitment were currently pending before the courts.
Referring to the growing leadership crisis in schools, Mr Milon said an additional 33,000 head teacher positions had become vacant.
‘Across the country, many eligible candidates are reaching retirement age without being promoted to head teacher positions,’ he concluded.
