Education Minister Denies Decision to Transfer Teacher Recruitment Authority to School Managing Committees Amid Widespread Public Outcry
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The Bangladeshi government has formally denied reports that it intends to transfer the authority for recruiting teachers in private educational institutions from the Non-Government Teachers Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA) to school managing committees. The clarification follows widespread public outcry and political protests sparked by leaked minutes from an August 3 Education Ministry meeting.
Education Minister A.N.M. Ehsanul Haque Milon addressed the controversy via social media late Monday, stating that the government has not made any decision to revert recruitment powers to governing bodies. In a post from his official media cell, the minister emphasized that the government is currently evaluating how to make the NTRCA’s recruitment process more transparent and efficient. He urged the public to refrain from spreading misinformation regarding the policy.
The controversy erupted after official meeting minutes suggested that, in order to resolve existing administrative backlogs, the ministry was considering limiting the NTRCA’s role to certification only, while delegating the actual hiring of teachers to the managing committees of private institutions. Currently, the NTRCA manages the recruitment of assistant teachers, while positions for principals, vice-principals, and staff are also transitioning under its oversight following recent examination cycles.
The proposed shift met with immediate resistance from political parties, student organizations, and job seekers. Critics, including the Jamaat-e-Islami party, warned that returning recruitment authority to local managing committees would invite corruption, nepotism, and political influence, potentially reviving a cycle of bribery that the centralized NTRCA system was designed to eliminate.
Protests intensified on Monday as various student groups took to the streets. The student wing of the National Citizens Party (NCP), known as Jatiya Chhatra Shakti, staged a demonstration at the University of Dhaka. Similar condemnations were issued by the Islamic Student Movement and the student organization Chhatrapokkho, both of which argued that moving away from a merit-based, centralized system would destabilize the national education sector.
As the debate escalated on social media, student leaders affiliated with the Jatiotabadi Chhatradal, the student wing of the ruling party, initially urged the public to remain calm and await official clarification. Following the Education Minister’s intervention, these supporters began sharing the government’s statement to debunk claims that a policy shift was imminent. The Ministry reiterated that the 2005 act governing the NTRCA remains the framework for their ongoing efforts to streamline the educational recruitment process.
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