Do government teachers’ activities encourage further privatisation of education? Education has yet to overcome its negative aspects, which it has been struggling with for a long time. December is the month of annual examinations for SSC candidates to assess their progress and achievement, while other students dream of advancing to the following higher classes and then enjoy the year through games, sports, and picnics.
Ignoring all these positive aspects, what have we witnessed at the beginning of this month of victory? The government’s primary and secondary school teachers went on strike to press their own demands, leaving the students pawns.
A different picture on the other hand surface in the same period in all the private schools, MPO, Non-MPO who were busy with conducting the examinations, making results and all other academic and related activities alluring the guardians further to send their kids to these privately run schools as their children had to come back from government schools without appearing in the annual examinations because of teachers’ strike.
Our 65,569 government primary schools accommodate 3 lakh 84 thousand teachers, and the teachers of 712 government high schools went on strike, vowing not to conduct the annual examinations and evaluate the examination scripts of the students, calling for a ‘complete shutdown’ movement and ‘school locked’ activity.
According to the 2025 government academic calendar, the annual examinations were scheduled to begin on November 20 and end on December 7. The test exams were scheduled from November 27 to December 11, and the junior scholarship examination was scheduled from December 28 to December 31, 2025.
However, due to the teachers’ strike, these examinations began but were initially halted and disrupted, causing psychological distress among young children. The secondary-level teachers ended their strike on December 3, considering the overall situation, and began working, proving that government officials can act at any time, utterly disregarding state norms and rules, which was previously impossible when the ‘bureaucracy’ was strong.
The left politicians and so-called democrats have misunderstood the matter of bureaucracy. A strong bureaucracy does not allow for quick and massive corruption; it also prevents inefficient individuals from occupying valuable positions.
However, the lengthy process of getting state work done is one of the worst aspects of bureaucracy that receives repeated reference. That would not have happened if the meritorious and genuinely good students had entered politics. We have miserably failed to invite the meritorious and serious students to both politics and teaching.
At the primary level, due to teachers’ strikes, headteachers attempted to conduct exams in an alternative manner, which further created problems. In many places, physical education exams were conducted instead of English, and this irregularity exacerbated the already problematic government primary education in many parts of the country, with some possible exceptions.
These irregularities led some guardians to intervene in the teacher leaders’ affairs, even causing a serious problem in the teacher-guardian relationship that would be difficult to rectify in the near future.
Most of the teachers of government primary schools are assistant teachers who belong to the 13th grade. However, the head teachers have been upgraded to 10th grade. The assistant teachers observed a ‘sit-in demonstration’ movement at Central Shaheed Minar since November 08 2025, which was responded to by the ministry, stating that their upgradation process from 10th to 11th grade was underway.
After 17 days, when teachers found no such advancement in this regard, they began a strike on November 28, vowing not to participate in the terminal examination starting from December 1. The ministry warned them to take departmental punitive measures, but these also failed to persuade them to join their work.
After one week, they reluctantly began working, and the ministry started transferring the teachers as a token of punishment for those who actually led the movement. However, teachers also stated that they would conduct the terminal examination, but their movement would continue, posing a threat to the system.
On the other hand, DSHE also issued orders with warnings to the striking government secondary school teachers; however, they still did not conduct the annual examinations until December 1. Thirty-one government schools in Dhaka city also saw no exams, and students had to return home, creating a serious negative impact on the government school system.
The guardians, students, conscious people, and the government were strongly opposed to this strike. However, teachers said, No increment, no work. No gazette, no work. No promotion, no work.’’ They want their job to be included in the BCS cadre and issue a gazette immediately accepting their demands.
Teachers to be employed in different educational administrative positions without any time limit. Issuing an order to give a timescale and selection grade to the teachers in light of the Supreme Court verdict. Fourthly, they must be given two to three increments, including an increased salary, as was in vogue before 2015.
All these demands focus on their own benefits without providing any suggestions to address the existing problems our education system faces, particularly the quality of teaching and the excessive emphasis on private coaching over institutional one. The nation cries out for low-quality education, yet it remains silent on this issue.
Sometimes it seems that most teachers want schools as their way of getting private students. We recognise that private coaching cannot be eliminated, but that does not necessarily mean it should continue without any emphasis on institutional teaching.
We know that the teachers of government schools and colleges do not lead a miserable life compared to non-MPO and even MPO teachers. There are indeed some issues with their regular promotion, salary, and grade compared to those in other countries. However, they must also consider the teachers working in private and non-government schools who do not receive regular salaries, bonuses, or other benefits, yet make significant contributions to the education system.
They find it particularly difficult to manage their families, who require state care and social support. Government school teachers must think of our education management holistically, as they are the guardians of society.
Suppose they consider only 712 government schools and the benefits of their teachers, who often overlook the sound and holistic approach, as the most conscious section of society. Societal sympathy and support may not come to their favour, even to change their situation.
Secondary-level teachers of government schools claim to be first-class gazetted officers, which I also appreciate, and I have produced several articles advocating on their behalf. However, this should be implemented gradually and systematically, rather than through demonstrations and agitation by teachers already in service, as it sets a bad example.
We had only 317 government secondary schools for many years, which has been increased to 712 step by step, though the conversion criteria are not well known to the people of the country. If we consider converting the teachers of 712 government schools to BCS cadres, will it provide the ultimate solution?
Thousands of secondary schools are completely non-governmental, without any state benefits, and around 20,000 enjoy MPO. Is it a settled issue? Does the state want to educate secondary-level students only through 712 government schools, aiming to produce first-class officers without requiring any additional civil service tests?
What will happen to the other 28,000 schools then? Will they accept it? When these schools are rationalised, will all of them produce first-class officers? Does it make sense? Do all of them contain that quality and criteria? Is it possible for the state to maintain it either?
I advocate that qualified individuals will be converted to the BCS cadre through examinations, and considering their service records, they can be transferred to colleges and other educational institutions without promoting all teachers to first-class officers en masse. The incoming government will not show any interest in increasing the burden to nationalise non-government schools.
That means several lakh teachers may be deprived of state benefits because of the undue behaviour of a small number of government teachers. The incoming government will attempt to privatise and control secondary education, which will ensure regular teaching and learning activities without placing undue pressure on the government, and will make students the subjects and sufferers of their frequent demands.
No government will desire to commit the same mistakes as the previous government, which nationalised 26,000 registered primary schools, severely sacrificing the quality of education.
The teachers of primary and secondary schools were quite aware of their entry-level grade and promotion system when they entered the job. The existing grades and facilities definitely call for reform and change that should be settled in an organised and convincing way, not by force, particularly not by making the young students pawns.
Their strike will have a far-reaching effect on our education. Non-government and private schools will further develop their delivery and management systems to attract more students and guardians, as they already operate in a competitive environment that government schools rarely experience.
They enrol students who, in turn, enrol in the teachers’ coaching. Even then, if they do not pass or fail to develop their basic skills, teachers are hardly held responsible for that, as they are government teachers. The opposite happens in non-government primary schools, secondary schools, colleges, and private universities.
Private institutions ensure accountability, student and guardian satisfaction, ultimately leading to the satisfaction of authorities. As a result, providing a good quality education becomes possible. At the same time, nationalisation means losing all sorts of accountability and producing low-quality education, even though it ensures teachers’ financial security.
Yes, teachers’ financial security must be ensured, irrespective of the type of educational institution, to make our children worthy citizens of the country. That does not necessarily mean that all teachers should be government employees, and that all secondary-level teachers must be first-class gazetted officers. However, we must devise a genuine plan that ensures teachers’ financial security and provides education of a global standard.
About the Author
Masum Billah works as a President of the English Teachers' Association of Bangladesh (ETAB), Dhaka, Bangladesh. He previously worked as an Education Specialist at BRAC, an international NGO in Bangladesh.
