No Law Empowers NTRCA to Appoint Teachers

Principal Selim Bhuiyan, Member of Parliament for the Comilla-2 constituency, has launched a fierce critique against the Non-Government Teachers' Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA), demanding judicial intervention from the Law Minister while asserting that the agency holds no legal mandate to directly appoint teachers anywhere in existing legislation.

Participating in an education-related parliamentary discussion in the National Parliament on Thursday, the lawmaker strongly questioned the current operations of the NTRCA and called for the immediate implementation of a transparent, merit-based alternative recruitment framework. He reminded the house that while the NTRCA was originally established during the BNP government's tenure strictly to oversee teacher registration, its current operational execution has morphed into a system riddled with widespread irregularities.

The lawmaker expressed deep concern over systemic vulnerabilities, noting that thousands of individuals carrying fraudulent certificates are successfully manipulating recruitment examinations. He demanded that these forged certificate holders be identified and prosecuted before any further recruitment steps are taken.

"I am firmly in favor of appointing highly qualified and talented teachers, but that recruitment must happen through a completely transparent process. The existing law contains no explicit provision allowing the NTRCA to directly appoint teachers. I strongly urge the government to form a separate, independent commission modeled after the BCS to guarantee that genuinely meritorious educators are deployed to our institutions." — Principal Selim Bhuiyan, MP, Comilla-2

The lawmaker further stressed the urgent need to thoroughly overhaul the country's educational infrastructure. He warned that key administrative bodies—specifically the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE), the NTRCA, and textbook-related institutions—cannot be allowed to remain breeding grounds for corruption. Without aggressive structural reforms in these bodies, he argued, the education sector will remain stagnant, leaving the government heavily unaccountable to the nation.

Highlighting the fiscal landscape, the MP acknowledged the government's substantial commitment to development, referencing a massive allocation of 136,000 crore Taka earmarked for the education sector. Given this historic funding, he emphasized that the execution of educational development must be managed meticulously to avoid any public or administrative controversy.

Turning to the long-standing grievances of private sector educators, Selim Bhuiyan forcefully raised the demand for the nationalization of private educational institutions. He recalled a historic declaration made on May 12, 2010, at the China-Bangladesh Friendship Exhibition Centre, where the then Leader of the Opposition and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia committed to nationalizing teacher jobs upon returning to government. He noted that top leadership—including the current BNP Secretary General, then Education Minister Dr. Osman Faruk, Khairul Kabir Khokon, Amanullah Aman, and Zainul Abedin Farroque—were present at that event, making the realization of that vision an absolute necessity.

The Comilla-2 representative concluded his floor time by demanding immediate Monthly Pay Order (MPO) enlistment for all qualified non-MPO institutions, alongside a specific plea to bring neglected Ebtedayee Madrasah teachers under the MPO umbrella.

Leaving teachers starving makes true educational progress completely impossible, the lawmaker stated, arguing that if education is the backbone of the nation, then teachers are undeniably the backbone of that education. He concluded by asserting that the Prime Minister never wishes to see the nation's educators deprived, urging swift, definitive state action to secure the fair rights and demands of teachers to elevate the country's entire academic ecosystem.