The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Various organisations of primary schoolteachers have strongly opposed the Government's decision to hand over the responsibility of supervision of primary schools to BRAC, an NGO, which they said would first implement its micro-credit agenda through the schools.

The teachers, at a press conference yesterday, set a 10-day ultimatum before the Government to rescind the decision. Otherwise, they would go for countrywide movement to compel the Government to cancel it.

Bangladesh Primary Teachers Association (BPTA), Bangladesh Private Primary Teachers Association (BPPTA), Bangladesh Graduate Primary Teachers Association (BGPTA) and Bangladesh Community Primary Teachers Association (BCPTA) jointly organised the press conference at the BPTA office.

The primary schoolteachers announced a series of programmes to press home their demands, including submission of memorandum to the Adviser for Primary and Mass Education and other offices concerned on May 28, wearing black badges by primary schoolteachers across the country from June 10 to 12, and submission of memorandum to the Chief Adviser's Office on June 12.

On April 23 this year, the Government decided to give BRAC the responsibility of monitoring all the primary schools, including Government, private and community schools, in 30 upazilas across the country.

BPTA president Wahiduzzaman Miah at the press conference said that country's primary educational system could be ruined if monitored or supervised by an inexperienced organisation like BRAC as it could not run its own schools in remote areas for "mismanagement".

"It's nothing but an initial process to privatise the Government primary schools. And we all have to be aware about such initiatives," he said.

He urged the authorities of all the primary schools not to allow any NGO (BRAC) workers in the schools.

He said the instructors and assistant instructors of Upazila Resource Center (URC) are giving the teachers necessary training in a scientific way.

"Following the training, Thana Education Officer (TEO) and Assistant Thana Education Officer (ATEO) monitored and supervised it closely for quality education," he told the journalists.

Wahiduzzaman said it is necessary to take some effective measures like promotion to secure qualified teachers for ensuring quality education as many highly qualified teachers are leaving the profession for financial insecurity.

"The main objective of NGOs in the country is to start credit programme. If they (BRAC) entered any schools in the name of monitoring quality education, the BRAC workers will definitely launch their prefixed credit programme," President of BPTA Mohammad Shamsul Alam said.

The leaders of primary schoolteachers also demanded introducing rationing system for teachers with 60 per cent dearness allowances, single education system in primary level, removing salary discrimination among the staffs, nationalisation of all the in-service non-Government school teachers, and recruiting both male and female teachers based on equal qualifications.

BGPTA president Abdul Khaleque, BPTA Secretary General BM Asad Ullah and BPTA Joint Secretary Naznin Banu were, among others, present at the press conference.