Bachelor’s degree must for female candidates

Desk Report
The government is going to bring changes in primary school teacher recruitment policy, fixing the graduation as minimum academic qualification for females.
At present, female candidates with Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and males with bachelor’s degree can apply for the post of assistant teacher in government primary schools.
As per the new policy, the qualification for female candidates applying for assistant teacher post in government primary schools will be bachelor’s degree or equivalent.
Besides, the appointment of 20 percent science teachers will be mandatory during the recruitment of assistant teachers in the primary schools.
The eligibility bar is being revised by amending the 2013 government policy for recruiting primary school teachers.
The secretaries’ committee on administrative improvement affairs of the cabinet division on Sunday approved a proposal of the primary and mass education ministry regarding amendment to the policy.
Earlier, the ministry sent the proposal to the cabinet division to amend the government policy for appointment of primary school teachers.
Now a gazette notification of this decision will be issued by the ministry after completing other formalities in this connection, said the ministry officials.
Primary and Mass education ministry secretary Md Akram-Al-Hasan said the proposal to amend the teacher recruitment policy was approved, in which the minimum qualification had been fixed at graduation or equivalent for both male and female.
He also said now the appointment of 20 percent science teachers in government primary schools will be mandatory as per the amended policy, though earlier it was not mandatory.
The ministry sources said the appointment and promotion of the headmasters of government primary schools have come under the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPS) as the government has upgraded posts of primary school headmasters to second class.
Afterwards, the government took initiatives for amending the government primary school teacher recruitment policy. Then, the ministry sent a proposal to the cabinet division, seeking amendment to the policy.
The cabinet division on Sunday placed the proposal of the ministry before the secretaries’ committee on administrative improvement affairs where the committee approved the proposal.
As per the new decision, now the graduation or equivalent is mandatory for both male and female candidates to be requited at government primary schools.
Sources said earlier female candidates with Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and males with graduation could apply for the assistant teacher’s job until 2013. But in August 2013, the qualification for female candidates had been raised to HSC by amending the 1991 government policy for appointment of primary school teachers.
Earlier, the assistant teachers were appointed at the government primary schools directly while 35 percent of headmasters were appointed directly and rest of the 65 percent posts through promoting assistant teachers. But the ministry upgraded the third class post of head teachers to the second class on March 9, 2014.
Since then, the 35 percent of headmasters of government primary schools are being appointed through BPSC while the assistant teachers are appointed directly. So the ministry took initiative to include the matter amending the teachers’ recruitment policy 2013.
The number of government primary schools is 1,33,901 across the country. Over 5.57 lakh teachers are working at these schools where over 3.51 teachers are female.