Primary and Mass Education and Education Minister Dr A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon informed Parliament that the recruitment and promotion of thousands of teachers, along with appointments to key administrative positions in educational institutions, have remained stalled due to various legal complications.
Speaking in the Jatiya Sangsad under Rule 300 of the Rules of Procedure, the minister said several major recruitment processes have been suspended because of pending court cases.
Responding to an issue raised by ruling party lawmaker Zainul Abdin Farroque, Milon said the recruitment of 32,500 teachers, as well as separate initiatives to recruit 2,600 and 17,000 teachers, remain on hold due to ongoing litigation.
The minister said he has been working to resolve the legal complexities since assuming office.
“From the very first week after taking charge, I personally visited the court premises and made efforts to resolve these legal issues. However, the cases are yet to be listed before the Appellate Division, making it impossible to move forward with the recruitment process despite an acute teacher shortage across the country,” he said.
Milon said the appointment of heads of educational institutions through the Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA), as well as the recruitment of college principals and heads of institutions, has also been halted due to court cases.
He added that the recruitment process for office assistants-cum-night guards at primary schools has similarly been suspended for the same reason.
The minister noted that thousands of education-related cases are currently pending before courts, creating significant obstacles to administrative activities in both the education and primary education sectors.
He informed Parliament that nearly 33,000 head teacher positions have already become vacant across the country.
According to the minister, many qualified teachers are retiring without receiving promotions because of legal disputes and complications related to the promotion process.
“There are many teachers across Bangladesh who have attained the qualifications required to become head teachers, yet they are not receiving promotions. The legal complexities are preventing these issues from being resolved,” he said.
Regarding transfers in primary schools, Milon said administrative authority has already been decentralized to the upazila, district and divisional levels.
The minister reiterated that the government is making every effort to address the situation but noted that meaningful progress in recruitment and promotion activities will remain difficult until the pending court cases are resolved.