Education ministry needs to act

In August 2018, the government declared that 302 private colleges would become public colleges amid protests from teachers and employees. It means the teachers and employees will receive their salaries as per the government pay scale while the students will also be paying fees as per the government policy.

It has been 17 months but these decisions have not been implemented. The MPO-listed teachers of these colleges are still receiving thier salary like before. And the students are still paying the high fees they used to pay as private colleges. What was the point of that government declaration then?

One of the teachers reacted angrily on social media, writing, “If you cannot ensure acquisition of the three hundred plus educational institutions, let them be private institutions. Do not destroy the education system.”

This is not an individual opinion. All the teachers and the employees feel the same. But the question is, do the frustrations and anger of the teachers and the employees reach the education ministry officials? And even if they hear the plea, do they care?

The teachers of the private educational institutions have to fulfill a few conditions to become MPO-listed and the education ministry along with the Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Directorate are responsible as the regulators.

According to a Prothom alo report, even though 302 educational institutions were declared to be public in August 2018, till now only 44 have been verified. If it takes 17 months to complete the verification process of 44 institutions, then it will take many more years to complete the whole process.

In that case, what is the point of making that declaration? Isn’t it synonymous to deceiving the teachers? The teachers of the 44 institutions that had been verified so far are not receiving salary as per the government pay scale. Because the list from the education ministry need to reach the finance ministry via the public administration ministry. And the teachers will receive their salary under the revised pay scale only after the final approval from the finance ministry.

The process of converting the educational institutions into public colleges started in 2016. The government decided to convert at least one private college into a public college in the upazilas (sub-districts) where there are no public colleges. In August 2018, all over Bangladesh, 271 private colleges were declared public colleges.

And immediately after that an additional 31 colleges were also declared as public colleges. That brings the total number of colleges that had been declared public colleges to 302.

There used to be only a minister at the education ministry. Now there is a deputy minister in addition to the minister. Still why this slow-footedness in the process? The way the verification process is progressing it only reflects the government's apathy towards the teachers and students.

As a result of the slow verification process the teachers along with the students are suffering. The students are still paying high fees even after the announcement from the government. This is not acceptable in any way. There are many non MPO-listed teachers along with MPO-listed ones in private colleges, and they have much to worry about.

The government should complete the verification process immediately and pay the salary of the teachers according to the government pay scale. There should not be any delay in addressing the issue.