Recruitment stalled due to pending cases

Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon has said that recruitment and promotion of thousands of teachers across the country remain stalled due to pending legal complications in various court cases.

Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday under Rule 300, the minister said thousands of cases related to the education sector are currently pending, creating significant obstacles to recruitment and administrative decisions.

He said the recruitment process for 32,500 teachers, along with separate initiatives to appoint 2,600 and 17,000 teachers, has been suspended due to ongoing litigation.

“Since assuming office, I have been working to resolve these legal complications. In the first week, I personally visited the court premises to address the issues,” he said.

However, Milon noted that many cases have not yet reached the Appellate Division, making it impossible to proceed with recruitment despite a severe shortage of teachers nationwide.

He added that appointments of institutional heads through the Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA), as well as recruitment of college principals and other administrative posts, have also been affected.

The minister further said that recruitment of office assistants-cum-night guards in primary schools has also been suspended due to similar legal barriers.

According to him, around 33,000 headteacher posts are currently vacant, while many qualified teachers are retiring without receiving promotions because of legal disputes.

“There are many teachers who have the required qualifications for promotion, but legal complications are preventing them from being appointed,” he said.

Milon also said that authority for administrative transfers in primary schools has been decentralised to upazila, district and divisional levels.

He reiterated that meaningful progress in recruitment and promotion will not be possible until the pending court cases are resolved, although the government is making maximum efforts to address the issue.