Pry teacher recruitment: Selected, yet still waiting

After finally being selected as an assistant teacher at a government primary school in February, Shariful Islam (pseudonym, as per request) quit his job at a private company, where he earned Tk 40,000 a month.

He also skipped two government job viva voce examinations, expecting to join his new post soon.

But when the appointment letters were finally issued on September 24, his name was missing.

“Now what do I do?” said Shariful, who was among the more than 200 candidates gathered in front of the Shahbagh police station yesterday demanding appointment letters and explanations for being left out.

On February 8, the Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) published the final results, selecting 14,384 candidates in 61 districts. They are scheduled to join on October 1.

However, at least 2,461 selected candidates did not receive appointment letters in the initial phase, said protesters.

Rabonno Halder came from Barishal to Shahbagh with her ailing father. “We have been waiting for the appointment for the last eight months. How could this happen to me?” she said.

As the sit-in continued, district offices began publishing second-phase appointment letters. By the afternoon, such lists had been published in at least seven districts: Pabna, Rajshahi, Khulna, Thakurgaon, Narayanganj, Tangail and Narail.

The protesters welcomed the development but said they would continue until all finally selected candidates across the 61 districts receive appointment letters.

Several protesters said they received letters yesterday.

“I got mine, but I will not move from this place until the others get theirs,” said Md Ershad Ali of Pabna.

Selected applicants have been waging protests since April for quick completion of the appointment process.

Following protests on April 26 in Shahbagh and outside the DPE headquarters in Mirpur, Primary and Mass Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon on May 3 said none of the selected candidates would be dropped and appointment letters would be issued “very soon”.

A week later, the DPE ordered police verification of all 14,384 candidates, including checks on their previous activities and documents.

The exclusions have raised questions over what can disqualify a candidate after final selection, who makes that decision, and whether affected candidates can know and challenge the reason.

The issue comes after an interim government meeting in July 2025 decided to scrap intelligence agency vetting of candidates’ political affiliation in public service recruitment and promotion, while retaining criminal-record checks.

Similar exclusions have occurred before. In the 43rd BCS, 227 PSC-recommended candidates were deemed temporarily ineligible based on intelligence reports. Their cases were later reviewed, and 162 were appointed in May 2025.

Contacted over such instances, former primary and mass education secretary AKM Abdul Awal Majumder said verification has long been part of government recruitment and may involve the Special Branch or other intelligence agencies.

“This is now an issue of political mistrust. Unless political parties reach an understanding that differences of opinion and paths will remain, but no one will harm another because of those differences, I do not see any possibility of this ending.”

The practice has become more pronounced since the 1990s, he said.

Speaking to this newspaper, Prof Anu Muhammad questioned the verification process.

“When someone sits for a recruitment examination, they know what qualifications are required. If they pass the written and viva examinations, they are considered qualified to become teachers. That is the rule. After that, there can be no justification for dropping them.”

If the government wants to prove it is not committing such injustice, it must immediately move away from these practices and ensure the appointment of those who have been recruited through due process, he added.

Meanwhile, Milon on Saturday said that candidates who do not receive letters by October 1 would have their cases reviewed and appointment letters issued in phases after verification.

He said vetting is a regular process in government recruitment.

Milon and the Secondary and Higher Education Division Secretary Abdul Khaleque could not be reached despite repeated attempts.