The continuous demeaning situation of education did not see the way to recruit deserving and real qualified teachers as teachers were employed in educational institutions by the local touts turned managing committee members who recruited teachers by virtue of their muscle and party power that made huge scope for them to illegally earn money by employing unqualified teachers, in most of the cases though not all. The current decision of recruiting teacher without written test will be a suicidal decision.
Following the long discussion, criticism, advice and suggestions of the educationists of the country, the government gave importance to the matter of recruiting qualified teachers through a rigorous selection process and so introduced a separate entity named Non-Government Teachers’ Registration Certification Authority (NTRCA).
It raised hope for our future generation to have deserving teachers in their classrooms and receive quality learning from them. That did necessarily face huge opposition from the local leaders and even the members of Parliament, as their cronies would not be able to earn illegal money through the teacher recruitment process.
Still the entire process and NTRCA face difficulties in selecting and employing qualified teachers. In spite of the hurdles, the non-government educational institutions began embracing more qualified teachers than before. However, one recent piece of news makes us frustrated once again, as selecting good teachers through the NTRCA exam may require a different method of recruitment, i.e., teachers will be recruited without taking any written test. It sounds absurd to appoint teachers without a written test!
Dainikshiksha, an education-based news portal, published news with the headline; all arrangements have been completed to put the last nail in the coffin of selecting qualified teachers without a written test by NTRCA. The institution has become ineffective and the centre of turmoil in the last sixteen years because of corruption, nepotism and partisan steps.
In spite of these numerous problems, this institution started selecting better teachers for non-government educational institutions in greater numbers. Now, it is heard that NTRCA is planning to recruit teachers without arranging any written test, and educationists think it to be a suicidal step not to consider a written test. Teachers will be selected only through MCQ tests, not by a written test How come?
The government introduced NTRCA in 2005, and today is 2025, which means twenty years have passed. Still, we cannot say that teacher recruitment in non-government educational institutions has been freed from the clutches of evil.
However, it cannot be disagreed that these non-government educational institutions at least began meeting better quality teachers in most cases. That might not go far if NTRCA really plans to recruit teachers without taking any written test to save time and recruit teachers in the shortest possible time.
The matter is a serious concern as the so-called MCQ has done so much harm to our students that it will take a minimum of fifty years to recover. Today, students cannot express anything of their own, either in Bengali or English, mostly because of these types of tests.
Checking the SSC examination script is ongoing in the country. Head examiners and examiners have shared with me that students have written their answers using mobile language for many of the answers- be it short-type, MCQ, or broad-type questions.
This habit they have developed over the years. No main theme, nothing of their own, has been expressed that clearly says that they are expressing any idea or theme of the topics extremely in short, which is devoid of any convincing idea. Teachers have also been developed through this environment.
But to face NTRCA tests, they had to prepare, which means they had to go into a little depth about any subject that is going to be erased through the absurd plan they want to begin. If the written test is closed, it will create a half-done teacher or incomplete teacher.
It is true that thousands of teaching positions under MPO enlisted schools, colleges, and madrasas remain vacant, and this is causing serious disruption to the usual study and educational work of children. It takes a huge amount of time to conduct preliminary tests, written and viva-voce examinations, just like a snail’s pace; it means a race of about two years.
By this time, many more positions get vacant. To get relief from this situation, the authorities have been pondering over a system that will complete the entire recruitment procedure in three or four days by taking only the viva voce examination instead of a written test. Apparently, it seems to be an active and effective step; however, its ultimate result will be self-doomed and suicidal.
The current steps of evaluating exams in slow motion must be replaced by some innovative ways. One such advice is mentioned here. The written exams should be taken on Fridays, and scripts will be checked on that day and Saturday. It would be better to conduct the written test on the beginning day of any three days’ vacation, and the next two days’ scripts will be evaluated.
A large number of teachers from Dhaka City and adjacent areas will be invited to check the scripts sitting in a particular place, maybe in the NTRCA office. If it cannot accommodate teachers, the education board can be contacted to accommodate them for one or two days. Their food and refreshments will be provided properly.
When all the teachers evaluate the scripts together, discrepancies and mistakes will be minimal, and individual points of judgment will not prevail and create discrimination. It will remove all sorts of confusion that arise while teachers evaluate scripts sitting in their respective homes. Just after evaluating the exam scripts, teachers will be paid their dues to make them interested in responding to NTRCA’s immediate call next time.
Similarly, oral tests must also be completed within two or three days, after the written test. Many teachers will be invited who will complete the viva voce exams, forming many boards and setting questions will be asked to all without beating about the bush in the viva-voce boards that are done now. An effective orientation is to be given to those who will run the written and viva voce examination.
The existing slow pace of tests conducted by NTRCA will never solve the problem of selecting teachers within the shortest possible time to fill the vacant positions that have been lying for years, which is increasing gradually.
The authorities’ plan to resolve this crisis is not good either. Their plan to take only viva voce will miserably fail to select qualified teachers. It will rather find incomplete teachers who will never be able to dedicate themselves to building up a happy and prosperous nation by nurturing young children. The already loss our students have faced can also never be addressed by the teachers to be selected through this so-called MCQ method.
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.