Education Minister Cites Quran Learning Gaps in Madrasas as Challenge for Teacher Recruitment

Education and Primary & Mass Education Minister Dr. A N M Ehsanul Haque Milon has said that although many students are passing from madrasas, they are not learning the Quran properly. As a result, the government is unable to recruit religious teachers.

The minister made the remarks on Wednesday (15 April) while addressing a meeting with SSC and equivalent examination centre secretaries of Sylhet division at Sylhet Government Women’s College.

He said, “There are currently around 9,000 vacant positions for religious teachers, but we cannot fill them because the candidates lack proper knowledge of the Quran.”

The minister further stated that the education system has seen a major decline. He recalled the contributions of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman, saying he had introduced 50% MPO for teachers within just 16 days of becoming Education Minister. He mentioned working with Begum Khaleda Zia and noted that if the education reforms of that time had been continued over the last 17-18 years, the current decline in education quality would not have occurred.

Dr. Milon added that moral and religious education is severely lacking in the current system. He said the government wants to introduce moral (religious) education in schools and colleges to address this gap.