Staff Reporter :
Faced with 10 consecutive days of protests by teachers, the Ministry of Education has decided to nationalise all registered independent Ibtidai Madrasas in the country. These madrasahs will be nationalised in phases.
This announcement was made by the ministry’s Joint Secretary, S.M. Masudul Haque, on Tuesday afternoon at Shahbagh in the capital.
Earlier in the day, senior officials of the Ministry of Education held a meeting regarding the nationalisation of independent Ebtedayee Madrasah, where this decision was finalised.
Masudul Haque further said, “We have agreed to your primary demand for the complete nationalisation of all institutions and we have decided to nationalise all Ebtedayee Madrasas in Bangladesh in phases.”
He added, “You also had several other demands, such as the reinstatement of academic recognition, which has been stalled. We plan to resume it this June. Additionally, we have decided to begin the MPO (Monthly Pay Order) inclusion of Ebtedayee Madrasahs starting in 2025.
Initially, we will include the 1,519 grant-aided independent primary Ebtedayee Madrasahs along with other madrasahs in the nationalisation process.” Masudul Haque mentioned that the ministry has granted the six-point demand of the protesting teachers. Moreover, the ministry expressed regret over the police baton charge on the teachers.
Earlier, on Monday, the protesting teachers issued a 24-hour ultimatum for the nationalisation of independent Ebtedayee Madrasahs. They stayed on the streets throughout the night and resumed their sit-in program at Shahbagh on Tuesday morning.
