The reign of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman from 1975 to 1981 was a significant period for Bangladesh’s education for several reasons. The Monthly Payment Order (MPO) system was first introduced as a regular practice for non-government teachers’ development in 1980, along with the development of a service rule for them, which put them in a vulnerable position.
A similar salary scale was instituted for both government and non-government teachers, and 50 per cent of that salary was provided from the royal treasury, which definitely recognised the valuable contribution of teachers. In 1979, the Madrasa Education Board was established to recognise madrasa education and put it on a firm footing.
In 1980, the Mass Education Program was established to remove illiteracy from the country, bringing 4 million illiterate people under its umbrella to make them literate. Education has been a neglected area, and meritorious people usually didn’t enter teaching, which is still the case.
However, Ziaur Rahman included government college teachers in the cadre service to attract brilliant candidates to this profession and make it prestigious. The education cadre process began in 1977, was made an act in 1980, and in 1982, the first education cadre officials were appointed through the fifth BCS examination, who joined the service in 1984.
It was Begum Khaleda Zia who contributed to promoting the cadre service teachers first in 2001. We can remember that it was Ziaur Rahman’s time when non-government teachers’ benefits were raised to 30 per cent, which was raised to 100 per cent during the time of Begum Khaleda Zia in 2002.
Again, in the level of higher education, the first private university started its journey in 1992 during the time of Begum Khaleda Zia. She also introduced a stipend for girl students.
Because of these reasons, the Bangladesh College Teachers’ Association’ and Bangladesh Principals Forum proposed to declare and observe regularly President Ziaur Rahman’s birth day, January 19, as the National Teachers’ Day every year.
In 2002, at the auditorium of BIAM, the Bangladesh College Teachers’ Association and the Bangladesh Principals’ Council proposed on January 24 in the presence of the then Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia to make the memories of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman memorable on his birthday, January 19, to be observed as National Teachers’ Day since 2003.
It was also decided that the role of teachers in nation-building activities be formally recognised and commemorated every year through this observance, and that teachers be formally paid their respects and accorded a reception on this day.
However, this day did not receive due importance during the subsequent governments. However, the teachers think a day of this type should be observed to honour the contribution of the teachers and enhance their professional prestige.
The education sector now stands at a critical juncture, having navigated the volatile years of 2024 and 2025 amid uncertainties, teacher and student movements over various demands, and the absence of reform and development plans for the sector.
Students continued to face learning loss. At the same time, tensions in the teacher-student relationship, uncertainties about the new national curriculum, delays in the distribution of free textbooks, and poor public examination results remained major concerns for the sector.
We want to make 2026 a worthy and effective year, learning from the volatile situation we experienced in the previous two years, and, in that respect, observing this Day can help chalk out an effective plan.
The future of our education will be determined by the government elected through the national election scheduled for February 12, where we think teachers and teacher leaders must play a key role so that the long-standing issues of this sector can be resolved pragmatically.
The education sector continued to struggle to recover from challenges, including unrest at educational institutions, learning loss among students at all levels, and the need to improve the quality of education.
Successive governments neglected the education sector, and the trend continues to this day, a problem that needs to be resolved by teachers, educators, and teacher leaders.
Teachers of non-government primary schools observed a strike in the capital for about a month, demanding the nationalisation of their schools, and teachers of non-government secondary-level schools under the monthly payment order scheme demanded a salary hike and the nationalisation of their schools.
In December, some teachers began boycotting annual examinations at government primary and secondary schools across the country, demanding a pay hike and promotion, affecting the examinations; at some places, head teachers held the exams with the support of guardians and other school staff.
The teachers must play a big, genuine, and responsive role, and by observing the day, these points can be focused on, as teachers should not make the students the victims of their financial demands, which has serious consequences. Their due must be addressed, and this can be done through negotiation with the proper authorities without making students pawns.
The government, on December 23, issued a gazette notification raising the salaries of the head teachers of all government primary schools to the 10th grade. However, to date, out of about 65,567 government primary schools, the positions of head teachers have remained vacant in 32,000 of them.
The government also announced that it would upgrade the salaries of assistant teachers at government primary schools from the 13th to the 11th grade following their protest, but has yet to issue a gazette in this connection. After the July uprising, the education ministry in 2024 returned to the 2012 curriculum by cancelling the 2022 one, and decided to introduce a fully revised curriculum from 2026.
But the sad story is the repetition of book distribution dismal like previous years. Students have to wait for an uncertain amount of time to get their textbooks, which definitely further creates academic loss for them.
Teachers’ suggestions and what can be done in this regard must be brought to the discussion table while celebrating National Teachers Day. Even in this age of widespread social media, the gap between rural and urban education continues to widen.
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.
