Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon has said teachers should not participate in local government elections.
“I believe teachers should not participate in upcoming elections, and the government should formulate a law to ensure this,” the minister said while addressing a programme in the capital on Thursday.
He made this remark at the announcement programme of the approval of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) System Transformation Grant (STG) and Multiplier Grant. Under this, Bangladesh will receive around USD$98 million.
He also said teachers should refrain from engaging in local political activities. “If they want to enter politics or participate in local elections, they should first resign from their jobs,” he added.
The minister said the government is investing significantly in teachers’ training and professional development, stressing that those investments must be properly utilised to improve the quality of education and build a skilled future generation.
“We are making substantial investments in teachers’ training and development. These initiatives must be implemented properly so that we can build a better nation,” he said.
Calling on teachers to devote themselves to nation-building, Milon said the country’s future depends largely on the quality and commitment of its educators.
Referring to the government’s development vision, he said the prime minister is working with a firm commitment to building a prosperous Bangladesh and urged teachers to play a meaningful role in turning that vision into reality.
“The contribution of the education sector to nation-building must be the highest. At any cost, we have to build the Bangladesh we aspire to see in the future,” he said.
The programme was attended by State Minister Bobby Hajjaj; Prime Minister’s Adviser Mahdi Amin; Abdul Khaleque, secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division; Md Daud Miah, secretary of the Technical and Madrasah Education Division; James Goldman, high commissioner (OIC) of the British High Commission in Dhaka and development director of FCDO; Jurate Smalskyte Merville, team leader for education, social protection and migration at the Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh; Emmanuelle Abrioux, representative (OIC) of UNICEF Bangladesh; Dr Susan Vize, head of office and UNESCO country representative to Bangladesh; Akira Matsunaga, country director (OIC) of the Bangladesh Resident Mission of the Asian Development Bank (ADB); Javier Luque, country engagement lead for Bangladesh at the Global Partnership for Education (GPE); Md Shaiful Islam, joint secretary (planning) of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education; and Golam Kibria, team leader of the Human Capital Team at the British High Commission in Bangladesh and GPE Coordinating Agency co-chair of the Education Local Consultative Group (ELCG).
