Two troubling incidents unfolded in the past week. One involved teachers advocating for minor improvements but faced police aggression instead of dialogue. The situation remains uncertain as of the time of writing this piece on Friday evening. The other incident pertains to a fire outbreak at Mirpur’s Rupnagar area. Despite multiple alerts and calls for safety reforms, factory safety standards are still lacking. Once again, a factory fire has resulted in casualties. Both events underscore the state’s responsibility, its attitude towards its citizens, and where its priorities lie.
Let’s begin with the teachers. Their demands are modest and fundamental, such as increased house rent allowance, medical benefits, and festival bonuses. Some argue that an interim government may struggle to meet these demands. However, it’s worth noting that the interim government has no issue allocating significant funds for importing LNG and other products from the United States at prices above the international market rate, merging disreputable banks with a Tk 20,000 crore budget, and earmarking substantial sums for bureaucrats. The government is also pursuing long-term contracts favoring foreign businesses, such as engaging foreign companies to manage ports without transparency or legal procedures, imposing irrational tariffs weakening the economy, and planning defense equipment purchases. The disparity in budget allocation raises questions about how an interim government can make such decisions without financial constraints.
Teachers in schools and colleges, particularly those from MPO-listed or private institutions, have long been among the most neglected groups in Bangladesh. They frequently take to the streets to demand basic livelihood wages. Their persistent strikes, protests, and road blockades have persisted for years. Even under previous administrations, teachers endured hardships, lying on the streets and staging hunger strikes amid police crackdowns. False assurances and claims of budget constraints were common under past governments and continue under the current one.
During the presentation of last year’s budget, there was hope that the longstanding neglect of the education sector, as evident in the plight of MPO-listed teachers, would be addressed. Had Bangladesh invested closer to international education standards, teachers wouldn’t be facing such hardships. Expectations for a shift in priorities were dashed when the 2025-26 budget revealed increased allocations for government administration, including expenses on procurements, additional positions, and foreign trips. Conversely, funding for education and healthcare, crucial for the populace, remained stagnant compared to the previous regime. Even a marginal increase in these sectors could have met the teachers’ minor demands.
Furthermore, successive governments in Bangladesh have leaned towards commercializing and privatizing education over the years, leading to a fragmented system riddled with disparities and dysfunction. The education landscape comprises various madrasas, school types, and private institutions, necessitating substantial investments in the commercialized system from the primary level onwards. Calls for a unified, non-discriminatory education system that nurtures individuals’ potential have long gone unanswered. With education allocation below two percent of GDP, significantly lower than the global standard of six percent, Bangladesh must triple its current education budget to establish a comprehensive network of schools nationwide.
By prioritizing education and establishing a robust school network under state oversight, the need for coaching centers, private schools, and extensive private tutoring systems would diminish. Educators could transition from informal roles to formal teaching positions within an esteemed profession, enhancing their expertise. A unified educational framework would allow all children in Bangladesh, irrespective of financial status, to develop leadership skills on an equitable platform, eliminating the belief that leadership development is exclusively for the affluent.
Valuing education would also translate into respecting teachers, crucial for a country’s advancement. A nation cannot thrive without esteeming education and educators. Neglecting these aspects weakens the national foundation. The repercussions of undervaluing education and educators are evident when teachers resort to street protests, facing attacks from former students while bystanders remain indifferent. Such scenarios should be preventable.
Regarding labor issues, ensuring workplace safety falls under the state’s purview. Factories must provide secure entry and exit points and a safe work environment. Despite longstanding calls for a minimum safety standard and monitoring system, tragedies like Rana Plaza and Tazreen have occurred due to inadequate safety measures. While international attention and domestic uproar followed these incidents, the necessary steps to bolster labor inspection, transparency, and monitoring remain unaddressed. The scant number of labor inspectors in Bangladesh compared to the vast factory count results in negligible inspections, allowing violations to persist unchecked. Unlicensed, insecure factories continue to operate, leading to calamities like the recent Mirpur fire.
Expectations for change were pinned on the Labour Reform Commission’s proposals for regularizing factories, digitizing compliance, and enforcing accountability. Implementing these measures could enhance safety standards and ensure repercussions for non-compliance. However, both the teachers’ protests and the recent fire incident underscore a lack of empathy and accountability towards public welfare. This unresponsive stance, reminiscent of past governments, perpetuates hostility towards public demands, culminating in preventable tragedies.
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