100 teachers to be honoured on World Teachers’ Day

The government has decided to honour 100 distinguished teachers on the World Teachers’ Day to be observed on October 5, Education and Primary and Mass Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon has said, The decision was taken at the national steering committee meeting at the Secretariat on Monday.

In the previous years the government honoured only 12 teachers as recognition of the teachers’ contributions to nation-building.

Prime Minister’s Education Affairs Adviser Mahdi Amin was also present at the meeting. 

Previously, each recipient of the national “Distinguished Teacher Award” received Tk 2 lakh. With the number of recipients being increased to 100 this year, the government had initially decided to set the monetary award at Tk 1 lakh per teacher, the minister said.

However, after the briefing, the education minister said the government was taking steps to increase the amount.

Mahdi Amin said only 12 teachers had received the national-level “Distinguished Teacher Award” over many years. This year, for the first time, 100 meritorious teachers from primary to higher education will be brought under the recognition programme.

He expressed hope that the initiative would meet a long-standing expectation of the teaching community and encourage teachers to contribute further to improving the quality of education.

The government will observe World Teachers’ Day, proclaimed by UNESCO, on October 5 with the prime minister in attendance.

Meanwhile, the education minister said the transfer of primary school teachers is currently suspended. However, ongoing cases will be settled, he added.

“New applications or files for transfers are currently suspended. However, cases involving the replacement or attachment of teachers that need to be settled in the interest of the recruitment process must be completed,” he said.

The minister also said the government is taking steps to introduce an online transfer system for primary teachers in the future.

Regarding the recruitment of teachers in non-government educational institutions and through the Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA), he said the process is ongoing.