Allegations of corruption against the education ministry over promotion, enlisting educational institutions in monthly pay orders (MPO), and procurement have been widespread.
In the latest case of alleged corruption, the ministry is going to elevate a highly influential assistant professor violating existing government rules and regulations, which prohibits promotion of any government official facing criminal or departmental case.
A highly credible source, presently working in the Ministry of Education, revealed the corruption move to the Bangladesh Post.
According to the source, Assistant Professor Dil Afroz Binte Ashir, currently working in the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE), is going to be promoted as an associate professor.
She has been accused in a case filed for massive corruption and irregularities in the project titled ‘Establishment of ten new government high schools in surrounding areas of Dhaka city and adjacent districts’.
Dil Afroz was appointed in the education cadre in the 24th BCS. Despite being a teacher, she has been working in the DSHE since 2006 meaning she is out of class for more than a decade.
The source said the name of Dil Afroz, assistant director of DSHE’s Planning and Development Wing, has been included in the draft list of candidates primarily selected for promotion.
In the draft list, her serial is nine among the aspirants from the Social Science subject.
Talking to the Bangladesh Post on June 12 about her probable promotion, Dil Afroz said, “If there is any case, first you should talk to the accused.”
When this correspondent quipped that she herself is the accused, she said, “I haven’t got any documents. You can inquire it in your own way.”
Dil Afroz pleaded ignorance not only about any case against her, but also about any move to promote her. “I don’t know about the promotion. No departmental case is pending against me,” she said.
Education ministry sources said she is facing a case filed in December last year with a Dhaka court over graft and money laundering.
Md Fazlur Rahman, Additional Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division of the Education Ministry and a member of the promotion committee, was asked how the name of Dil Afroz was included in the draft list of promotion despite a case still pending against her.
“I can’t exactly tell whether her name has been really included in the draft list of promotion. How is it possible? It is not possible,” he replied.
“Who told you about the inclusion of her name in the promotion list,” Fazlur Rahman posed a counter question.
“Such name is not supposed to be in the list. If any criminal case or departmental case is pending against anyone, their names normally do not come to the promotion list,” he added.
Fazlur Rahman pleaded his inability to say whether her name is really in the list without going through the main document.
The Bangladesh Post Correspondent tried on several occasions to contact Professor Dr Syed Md Golam Faruk, Director General of DSHE, who is also the member secretary of the promotion committee, over phone and WhatsApp for his version about the matter.
Sometimes he received phone calls, but snapped the line in few seconds without talking. He did not respond to the WhatsApp messages.
This correspondent also tried to contact Md Mahbub Hossain, Secretary of Secondary and Higher Education Division of the Education Ministry, who is also the chair of the promotion committee, several times to talk on the issue. But he neither picked up the phone, nor did he respond to the SMS and WhatsApp messages.
According to sources, more than 1,000 education cadres are being promoted from assistant professors to associate professors. But a large part of them did not take classes even for a day after becoming an assistant professor.
On May 9, the promotion meeting of 3,308 officers of the education cadre started, which lasted for seven working days.
Ten years ago, general education cadre officials of 28th BCS examinations were recruited. But teachers of the mathematics department are yet to get a single promotion. Out of 2,346 education cadre officials recruited through 24th BCS some 16years ago, 2,006 teachers still remain assistant professors . Even some officials of 22nd BCS still remain assistant professors. These officials feel frustrated as they are denied promotion for such a long time.
The education cadre is one of the largest cadres in BCS. Over 13,000 officials are now working in the cadre while the number of total posts is around 15,500. Most of the officials of the education cadre work as teachers in government colleges. Some work in various education-related offices such as DSHE, National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB), education boards and National Academy for Educational Management (NAEM).
