Tarique Rahman to Resolve Ebtedayi Madrasa Crisis, Nationalise Teachers’ Jobs: Jamiatul Modarresin
The Bangladesh Jamiatul Modarresin, a non-political professional organisation representing madrasa teachers and employees, has said the government is committed to eliminating disparities within the country’s teaching community by ensuring independent Ebtedayi madrasa teachers and students receive the same facilities as those in primary schools and nationalising the jobs of teachers and employees at MPO-listed private educational institutions. In a statement sent to the media on Wednesday, the organisation’s president, Alhaj A M M Bahauddin, and Secretary General Principal Shabbir Ahmad Momtazi made the remarks. The Jamiatul leaders said independent Ebtedayi madrasas, established under the leadership of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman, had remained neglected and deprived of facilities for decades. They said Ziaur Rahman had brought madrasa teachers and employees under the national pay scale to integrate madrasa education into the national education system. Later, former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia increased their pay scales and supported disadvantaged private-sector educators.
Following the mass uprising, private teachers and employees had placed their hopes in Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, who assumed office with a pledge to build a discrimination-free country, backed by public confidence and support. The leaders said citizens across different sections were gradually regaining their rights and various visible initiatives were being implemented to eliminate discrimination. However, they expressed disappointment over the lack of significant steps to address the problems of independent Ebtedayi madrasas. They expressed hope that Tarique Rahman would uphold his parents’ ideals and soon ensure independent Ebtedayi madrasas receive the same facilities as primary schools, thereby winning the confidence and support of the teaching community. The leaders said madrasa education was an integral part of the national education system. Teachers and employees in this sector were dedicated to producing educated, principled, ethical and responsible citizens. They said nationalising the jobs of madrasa educators and all private-sector teachers and employees had become a demand of the time.
They expressed confidence that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, as the son of Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia, would nationalise the jobs of MPO-listed private teachers and employees. They also demanded that private-sector teachers and employees be included in the ninth pay scale, the retirement age be raised to 65, the transfer process be properly implemented and non-MPO educational institutions be brought under the MPO scheme. The leaders called on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, the Education Minister and the Finance Minister to eliminate longstanding disparities affecting madrasa education, private educational institutions, teachers, employees and students, and ensure equal access to all facilities. Reassuring madrasa teachers and employees across the country, the Jamiatul leaders said the organisation, established in 1937, had been instrumental in securing teachers’ rights, pursuing longstanding demands and ensuring professional benefits.
They said Bangladesh Jamiatul Modarresin had worked to secure an appropriate position of dignity and respect for neglected, deprived and marginalised teachers and employees, even when no organisation was speaking on their behalf. The president and secretary general said they were committed to protecting teachers’ dignity and would never undermine their status. They said Jamiatul Modarresin followed a different approach from other self-serving organisations. They said the organisation did not resort to blocking roads, arson, violent protests, hunger marches or hunger strikes, which they described as actions that could undermine the self-respect of the country’s most respected professionals. Instead, they said, the organisation had pursued teachers’ demands through the appropriate authorities, taking into account the country’s political circumstances, economic capacity and administrative considerations. They said the same approach would continue.
The leaders urged all MPO-listed teachers and employees to remain patient and united and strengthen the organisation, saying that just as Jamiatul Modarresin had helped the teaching community secure its rights in the past, it would continue working to fulfil their remaining demands. They further said that on November 3, a delegation of Jamiatul Modarresin leaders had met President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. He had listened patiently to their demands and assured them of his cooperation in addressing the problems of independent Ebtedayi madrasas, nationalising teachers’ and employees’ jobs and implementing their other demands. The leaders expressed optimism that through Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, the problems of independent Ebtedayi madrasas would be resolved and teachers’ and employees’ jobs nationalised, enabling MPO-listed private-sector educators to secure the dignity and recognition they deserve.
