The Ministry of Education has introduced new rules that place assistant teachers of “Religion and Moral Education” in non-government secondary, higher secondary and lower-secondary schools on different salary grades depending on whether they teach Islam or Hinduism – a move that has triggered immediate accusations of discrimination.
A notification issued by the Secondary and Higher Education Division on Sunday, December 7, updated the MPO (Monthly Pay Order) policy for private institutions.
Appendix-Gha of the policy spells out the qualifications, experience and salary scales for teachers.
Key provisions of the new policy
Islamic Education assistant teachers: Must be Muslim, hold a Fazil degree or bachelor’s with at least 300 marks in Arabic/Islamic Studies, and be under 35 years old. Salary grade fixed at 11th grade (Tk 12,500-30,230).
Hindu Religion assistant teachers: Must be Hindu. Two qualification routes are recognised:
A. Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) plus a Title degree → placed in 10th grade.
B. Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) with Sanskrit subjects only → placed in 11th grade.
Teachers condemn “extreme discrimination”
Teacher leaders have reacted with fury to the two-tier salary structure for the same post. Principal Delwar Hossain Azizi, member secretary of the MPO-affiliated Education Nationalisation Alliance, demanded an immediate amendment.
“This is extreme discrimination,” Azizi said. “Assistant teachers of Religion and Moral Education teaching Islam are placed in the 11th grade while Hindu religion teachers are given the 10th grade. This is a Muslim-majority country – why this neglect of Islamic teachers? The policy must be changed without delay. We demand that all assistant teachers of Religion and Moral Education, regardless of religion, be placed in the 10th grade.”
Bangladesh Islamic Studies Society convener Md Rashedul Alam went further, calling the policy politically motivated. “The new policy, which discriminates in the salary grade of assistant teachers of Islamic education and religious education, appears to be a ploy to put the government in danger,” he said. “Otherwise, how could the authorities concerned with formulating this policy take such a rash decision? We demand the immediate withdrawal of such a decision along with a proper explanation.”
Ministry defends decision as qualification-based
Senior officials at the Ministry of Education insisted the disparity is not religious but stems from differences in academic credentials.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Deputy Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division told this correspondent: “Religion and caste are not the main issues here. In the policy, Islamic education teachers are generally placed in the 11th grade because their core qualification is a Fazil degree. However, a Hindu religion teacher who holds a bachelor’s degree plus a Title degree or B.Ed. cannot be kept in the 11th grade – that is why they receive the 10th grade. If the Hindu teacher has only a bachelor’s with Sanskrit subjects and no Title degree, they too are placed in the 11th grade. The ministry has been compelled to maintain this grading difference purely because of the variation in recognised educational qualifications.”
The controversy has put the Ministry under pressure, with teacher bodies vowing to continue protests until the salary grades are equalised for both Islamic and Hindu religion assistant teachers.