Plan to revoke MPO status of madrasahs with zero passing rate

While, 21 students participated in the Dakhil examination from Ichadighi Dakhil Madrasah in Taingail’s Shakhipur this year, none of them have passed. Yet, teachers and employees of this MPO-enlisted madrasah receive cent per cent basic salary and some allowances from the government every month.

Sources from the Directorate of Madrasah Education stated that not even a single candidate passed from 41 madrasahs this time. Nine of these madrasahs are MPO-enlisted, that means their teachers and employees receive basic salary with some allowance from the government.

Now the Directorate of Madrasah Education is planning to revoke the MPO status of these nine madrasas. In light of that, a show cause notice is being served regarding why the MPO status of those madrasahs will not be revoked. Apart from them, madrasahs which are not enlisted under MPO will also be served show cause notices.

When asked, deputy director (administration) at the directorate of Madrasah Education Md Zakir Hossain told Prothom Alo that they have taken initiative of sending a show cause notice to the institutes, having zero passing rates. Further steps will be taken, once their replies have been received.

This year's SSC and equivalent examination results were published on 28 July. More than 2 million (2,041,450) students from 29,714 educational institutes from across the country had taken part in the exam this time. Of them, around 1.6 million (1,641,140) students passed.

This time, no one from total 48 educational institutes passed the exam. And 41 of these institutes are madrasahs. Even last year, not a single examinee from 41 madrasahs could clear the exam.

As per information derived from the Directorate of Madrasah Education, out of the MPO-enlisted educational institutes with zero passing rates, 16 students had taken the exam from Chak Farid Meherulla Dakhil Madrasa in Naogaon’s Patnitala but no one passed.

Meanwhile, 20 students from Boro Bidirpur Dakhil Madrasa and 12 students from Halakandar Sabed Ali Dakhil Madrasah of the same upazila had also taken the exam but nobody passed.

Among them, Halkandar Sabed Ali Dakhil Madrasa became MPO-enlisted back in 2000. That means teachers of the madrasah have been receiving a portion of their salary from the government right since then.

When contacted over phone, Halkandar Sabed Ali Dakhil Madrasa super Saidur Rahman claimed students couldn’t be brought back to regular classes even after Covid pandemic eased. In his opinion, that’s the main reason behind this situation. 

Meanwhile, 15 students took the exam from Rator RFS Dakhil Madrasah in Ranisankail upazila of Thakurgaon but all failed. The madrasah super Belayet Hossain however claimed that there were some issues at the examination centre. They have appealed to the board notifying them of the issue. This madrasah became MPO-enlisted in 2001.

Apart from that, 15 students from Hayatpur Dakhil Madrasah of Manirampur in Jashore, 7 from Shamserbagh Dakhil Madrasah of the same upazila, 15 from Amanullahpur Darussalam Mahila Dakhil Madrasah of Begumganj in Noakhali and 12 from Moyenpur Alitala Dakhil Madrasah of Tanore in Rajshahi had taken the exam but no one passed.