Teachers and employees of educational institutions all over the country are facing various types of harassment as corruption and irregularities have clutched the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE).
Money is the main condition to get a promotion, posting, transfer, and Monthly Pay Order (MPO) at the DSHE. Even a file to go abroad for treatment is not passed without lobbying or money. Many important tasks of the teachers and employees are stuck to the officials of the DSHE without lobbying or bribes. MPOs of the non-government teachers are being given from the DSHE in counterfeit certificates by managing higher authority. If the MPO forgery is found, action is taken against the teachers but responsible officials of the DSHE are out of justice. The authority has decentralized the MPO system to curb corruption. It has also increased harassment of the teachers and employees. MPO corruption has reached the grassroots level due to decentralization. Upazila education officials don’t submit MPO files without a bribe. Corruption allegations are also found against district education officers and officials of the deputy director’s office at the DSHE.
The Department of Inspection and Audit under the Ministry of Education has recently identified 678 fake certificates of teachers and employees across the country. It has recommended filing criminal cases against the responsible teachers and employees. A total of 479 teachers out of 678 were in the MPO listed. They received the salaries and allowances from the state exchequer. Cases were filed against these teachers. However, no action was taken against the responsible officials of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education.
Many allegations including absence in the workplace and bribery are found against research official Rafiqul Islam of the Planning and Development Section of DSHE. He has been absent from the office since January 8 this year without permission. No punitive action is taken against him without issuing a show-cause notice. Bribe allegations are found against some other officers at the DSHE which has tarnished the image of the organisation.
Transfer of the teachers is a normal procedure. However, teachers face various types of harassment for this transfer.
Bangladesh Teachers Association President Nazrul Islam Roni told this correspondent that teacher harassment at the DSHE is severe. Directors of the directorate are reluctant to give service to the teachers and employees although they are supposed to do it. A teacher has to give a bribe at every office for MPO. Upazila education officials don’t send MPO files without money. The whole MPO process goes through a syndicate.
It is needed to take legal action against the fake certificate holders. But those who give MPO to them after scrutiny, shouldn’t avoid the responsibility. There is no alternative to nationalization of the whole education system to stop corruption, irregularities and harassment in the education sector, he opined.
There is no visible progress on 10 projects under implementation by the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education. The work progress of the ICT project at high schools and colleges is only 8.64 per cent which was started in 2016. The work progress at 10 government schools is 32.04 per cent.
Work progress of a development project at government secondary schools is 20.37 per cent. Work progress of the extension project of Science education is 29.69 per cent which was started in 2018. Work progress on the construction of nine secondary schools is 40.22 per cent till June this year.
Acknowledging these corruption and irregularities, Professor Nehal Ahmed, director general of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education said, “There are some problems and harassment at regional offices of DSHE. We are trying to reduce these. We have a manpower shortage. There is a ban on foreign travel by the Ministry of Finance. However, we are permitted in special cases.
About the slow work progress rate of various projects, he said the Education Engineering Department is responsible for this.
@ The article was published on print and online versions of The Bangladesh Pratidin on September 9, 2023, and has been rewritten in English by Golam Rosul.
