Education and Primary and Mass Education Minister Dr. ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon has assured that none of the 14,384 candidates recommended for assistant teacher positions in government primary schools during the interim government will be excluded.
He made the announcement during a press briefing following the third session of the Deputy Commissioners' Conference at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka on Sunday afternoon.
Although acknowledging that the recruitment process was rushed and had raised several questions, the minister stated that everyone would be given the opportunity to join, albeit conditionally.
When asked about the exact joining date, he said it would be very soon, pending a review of the remaining administrative procedures at the secretariat.
Explaining the conditions of the appointments, Milon said the new recruits must prove their competence on the job. They will be required to undergo mandatory Primary Teachers Training Institute (PTI) training after joining.
"If they fail the training, they cannot remain teachers. Furthermore, according to government regulations, they will only be made permanent if they successfully complete a two-year probationary period," he said, emphasizing that these measures are strictly for the sake of providing qualified educators for the nation's children.
Shifting focus to religious education, the minister revealed that the government is formulating a unified policy to integrate Qawmi madrasas into the mainstream national education system.
Following multiple meetings with relevant stakeholders and positive feedback from the deputy commissioners, authorities are currently determining the equivalency of various Qawmi educational stages to standard secondary, higher secondary, and degree levels.
He added that necessary reforms, including the integration of technical and modern education components, are being planned to modernize the Qawmi curriculum. To alleviate the logistical struggles faced by students during examinations, the ministry also plans to construct multipurpose exam halls in every upazila.
Milon emphasized that the government is undertaking massive infrastructural projects in the education sector and assured that the budget would not be a constraint.
Looking ahead, the minister announced that approximately 77,000 new teachers will be recruited across the country in the near future. He pledged to strengthen mandatory training and evaluation systems to improve teaching standards and promised to swiftly resolve the long-standing backlog in headmaster appointments.
Additionally, he noted that the ministry is actively working to steer the current education system away from its heavy reliance on GPA-centric evaluations.
The briefing was attended by the Prime Minister's Adviser on Education and Primary and Mass Education Dr. Mahdi Amin, Education Secretary Abdul Khalek, and Primary and Mass Education Secretary Md. Shakhawat Hossain.
