The BCS education cadre is one of the largest in terms of numbers but one of the most backward in terms of job opportunities. There is no timely promotion in this cadre and no benefits as per merit. However, like other cadres, we also join the cadre service through a competitive examination called the Bangladesh Civil Service or BCS examination. But upon observing the history of deprivation of senior colleagues since joining, the elation with which we had joined the Cadre Service with the desire to serve the country came to an end. Despite that, we thought that there would be good days ahead.
Day by day, the scope of deprivation and discrimination continues to escalate. Officers junior to us, who have joined other cadre services, are receiving all the benefits they deserve in their jobs, including timely promotions. Moreover, regular promotions are being granted in other government and autonomous institutions; however, promotions from our senior batch to subsequent batches have been as rare as fig blossoms. During the previous government, from 2018 to 2023, only one promotion occurred in 2021, elevating individuals from Lecturer (ninth grade) to Assistant Professor (sixth grade). In other words, there was only one promotion during the five-year rule, an unprecedented occurrence in the history of the Bangladesh Civil Service. Many were waiting for getting promotion although they have surpassed more than seven years in service. Conversely, officers in other cadres have been promoted regularly. Despite repeated protests to higher authorities, our promotions were inexplicably halted.
According to the rules of the Bangladesh Civil Service, a BCS cadre officer will attain the senior scale after five years, contingent upon passing the departmental examination, completing foundation training, and passing the senior scale examination. This rule is diligently adhered to in the administration cadre. Specifically, an administrative cadre officer attains the senior scale or sixth grade precisely five years after completing the aforementioned steps. This process does not involve promotion based on vacancies at higher levels.
Recently, this rule has been implemented in other cadres too. For instance, officers who entered the Agriculture and Fisheries cadre in 2018 received their initial promotion precisely after 5 years, in 2023. However, the education cadre, one of the largest within the service, is being overlooked. We are consistently denied promotion, with the explanation that there are
o vacancies at higher levels. As a result, we are experiencing financial loss and social degradation.
After extensive deliberation, the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) convened for the promotion of lecturers at the end of the previous governments term, specifically in November. However, the DPC ceased its operations following the assumption of power by the current government. Nonetheless, the news of impending promotions, nearly three years overdue, brought a glimmer of hope to education cadre officers who had endured promotion denials even after being eligible infive to twelve years ago.
However, for a prolonged period, the Government Order (GO) for these promotions remained pending. As the saying goes, where misfortune strikes, obstacles arise. Rumors suggest that the delay in publishing the promotion GO is attributed to the education secretarys absence abroad. In this digital age, documents can be signed and uploaded to websites from any corner of the world. However, despite the governments "Digital Bangladesh" initiative and efforts to advance towards a "Smart Bangladesh," our promotions remain stalled due to the education secretarys overseas stay.Nevertheless, upon his return to the country in late January, the education cadre officials anxiously awaited news of their promotions once again.
A new problem emerges in this scenario. It has been announced by the Ministry of Finance that no more than one promotion can be granted for each vacant post. However, promotions in the Education Cadre have been occurring every 2-3 years in the past few years, resulting in an increasing number of Education Cadre officers eligible for promotion each year. Consequently, these promotees are kept in situ, continuing to serve in their previous positions. This practice allows the government to avoid additional financial burden and lets officers get their deserving promotion. This continuity has persisted over the years.
Similarly, we observe supernumerary promotions in the administration cadre and the police cadre as well. In fact, officers in these cadres often receive two promotions within a single year. Contrary to none, three times as many promotions have been granted.
Since the promotion of those who are currently eligible for promotion according to the 2015 pay scale does not offer financial consolidation to the government, especially for those who have been waiting a long time for promotion from grade 9 to grade 6, promotions serve as a motivation among these officers. This practice was observed in the last promotion in the education cadre in 2021, while promotions in other cadres are regularly based on this criterion.
The decision by the Ministry of Finance has sparked extreme disappointment and suppressed anger among officials in the education cadre. At a time when the development-oriented Bangladesh government is taking various steps to propel the nation forward into the 21st century and garnering hope and appreciation from people of all levels through corruption-free appointments in various positions, there is now an attempt to tarnish the image of this popular government by depriving education cadre officers of their rightful entitlements. Following the announcement of the pay scale in 2015, the Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina instructed responsible officials to address existing disparities in various cadres. However, this directive has been disregarded for almost eight years, and the inequality is becoming increasingly apparent with each passing day. While there is mounting frustration among officials who feel discriminated against, efforts to transform Bangladesh into a prosperous nation by 2041 are being hampered.
Therefore, we earnestly appeal to the Honorable Prime Minister, the daughter of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, to take a firm stand and intervene in solving our promotion problems as soon as possible so that in the coming GO, we, the eligible officers can get our first promotion (from Lecturer to Assistant Professor). We urge you to provide our education cadre with the opportunity to play a leading role in facing the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution.
The writer is a lecturer in Political Science, working in a government college, Gopalganj
