Primary teacher transfer-posting: 'Eminent' person in committee, concerns over lobbying

The Government has introduced a new system for the transfer and posting of teachers in government primary schools. Under the new arrangement, transfer applications will be scrutinised and decided by committees at four levels: upazila, district, divisional and national.

However, the decision to replace the previous online system with a conventional committee-based process, along with the inclusion of “eminent persons” in the committees, has raised concerns among sections of the education administration, teachers and education stakeholders.

They fear that involving individuals from outside the government in an administrative process such as the transfer of public school teachers could create greater opportunities for lobbying and undue influence rather than enhancing transparency.

The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education issued a notification on 21 June introducing the new policy.

Under the notification, each divisional, district and upazila-level transfer committee will include two eminent persons nominated by the committee chair.

The national committee, however, will not include any such members. The Government has stated that it introduced the new system to overcome stagnation in the teacher transfer process and reduce the administrative burden on the ministry.

Nevertheless, questions have arisen over whether it is appropriate to replace a technology-driven, online transfer system with a committee-based process.

According to the Directorate of Primary Education, Bangladesh currently has more than 65,000 government primary schools. These schools serve approximately 10.6 million (1.06 crore) students and employ nearly 375,000 teachers.

Under the new policy, the transfer and posting of assistant teachers in government primary schools will take place through committees at the upazila or thana, district, divisional and national levels.

The secretary of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education will chair the national committee.

Divisional commissioners will chair the divisional committees, deputy commissioners (DCs) will chair the district committees, and upazila nirbahi officers (UNOs) will chair the upazila or thana committees.

Each divisional, district and upazila committee will also include two eminent persons nominated by the committee chair.

The notification does not specify the application procedure. However, it states that each committee will meet at least once every month to scrutinise transfer applications and take the necessary steps to dispose of them.

The relevant committee will approve and issue transfer orders for transfers within the same upazila, district or division.

The national committee will examine applications for inter-divisional or inter-city corporation area transfers.

The district committees will also take responsibility for posting newly appointed assistant teachers to schools through a lottery.

According to those familiar with the matter, the transfer and posting of government school teachers constitute an administrative process governed by established rules.

Therefore, government officials with statutory responsibility should make such decisions.

They consider the decision to decentralise the transfer process a positive step. However, they have questioned the inclusion of non-government individuals in the committees.

Several education administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that allegations of lobbying and attempts by teachers to secure transfers to preferred workplaces have long surrounded the transfer process.

They fear that the inclusion of external individuals under the designation of eminent persons in the new committees could create even greater opportunities for such lobbying and influence.

Moreover, the policy provides no definition of who qualifies as “eminent person”. In practice, critics argue that political influence often plays a significant role in such appointments.

They contend that the greater the scope for discretionary decision-making regarding who receives priority for transfers, under what circumstances applications are accepted, and where teachers are posted, the greater the risk of reduced transparency.

Previously, the Directorate of Primary Education managed teacher transfers through an online software system.

According to education sector analysts, government agencies are increasingly adopting digital and automated systems to deliver public services.

They believe that the authorities could also implement an automated transfer system for teachers based on objective criteria, including vacant posts, length of service, duration of service in remote areas, distance between the teacher's residence and workplace, family circumstances, and health-related needs.

Such a system would minimise human intervention and significantly reduce opportunities for lobbying and irregularities.

They argue that, in this era of advanced technology, administrative functions such as teacher transfers should operate through a transparent, online-based system rather than rely on committee decisions.

Under such a system, teachers would submit applications online and receive the outcome based on predetermined criteria, thereby reducing the need for unofficial contacts or recommendations.

The Government, however, has stated that the new arrangement is only temporary. When asked about the matter, state minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj told Prothom Alo, "We will formulate a comprehensive policy for teacher transfers. Until we finalise that policy, these committees will operate as a temporary arrangement."

The Government has suspended general teacher transfers since 2025. Guidelines issued in February had provided for the introduction of an online transfer system, but the authorities have yet to implement it.

According to ministry officials, the transfer process had remained largely stagnant for an extended period, while lobbying directed at both the ministry and the directorate had continued to increase.

They said the Government therefore decided to decentralise the transfer process by assigning responsibility to committees.

Speaking to Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity, a leader of the primary school teachers' association said, "Teacher transfers were once carried out entirely through an offline system. The authorities later introduced an online transfer system based on prescribed criteria and eligibility requirements. As a result, opportunities for lobbying and corruption in the transfer process declined significantly."

The teacher leader added, "By including eminent persons in committees at different levels under the new system, the Government has once again created concerns about undue influence and lobbying. If an administrative process such as government teacher transfers allows decisions to depend on non-government individuals, ordinary teachers may face discrimination and harassment."

He further said that, instead of establishing new committees, the Government could achieve the desired outcome by making the existing online transfer system more transparent, teacher-friendly and better suited to current needs.