In yet another blatant display of desperation and incompetence, Muhammad Yunus’ authoritarian, pro-Islamist interim regime is shoving through a half-baked, regressive Education Act in the dying days of its illegitimate rule\u2014proving once again that this fascist clique cares nothing for genuine reform and everything for consolidating Islamist influence and sabotaging Bangladesh’s secular education system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After dragging its feet for nearly a year and a half\u2014while educationists have demanded universal secondary education and free schooling up to Class VIII for years\u2014the Yunus regime suddenly rushes to enact this sham law right before its February 12 staged election farce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Liberation War Legacy Under Scrutiny: Yunus\u2019 revisions spark controversy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n One-third of textbooks flawed, distribution delayed, NCTB loses Tk100 crore<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yunus-aide Shafiqul Alam\u2019s brazen lies draw severe criticism<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The draft, dumped on the Ministry of Education website on February 1 with a laughable six-day feedback window (three of them public holidays), is nothing but a cynical last-minute stunt to lock in Islamist-friendly policies and block real progress, reports the daily Prothom Alo<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This pathetic document merely regurgitates the obsolete 1990 Primary Education (Compulsory) Act, limiting compulsory primary education to Class V\u2014despite decades-old demands and even the regime’s own prior moves toward extending it to Class VIII.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It ignores ongoing advisory committees (one on secondary education still pending its report and another on primary education that submitted over 100 recommendations last year, most unimplemented). By publishing the draft before these expert inputs, the regime ensures any meaningful legal changes become a bureaucratic nightmare\u2014classic authoritarian sabotage of quality education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Worse, the draft panders shamelessly to pro-Islamist forces by pledging “necessary measures to improve the quality of education” in Qawmi madrasahs\u2014elevating these unregulated, extremist breeding grounds while sidelining secular, modern curricula. It mandates inclusion of religious content, the Liberation War, mass uprising, science, civic rights, and ethnic cultures\u2014but bans any institutional activities that “contradict the spirit of the Liberation War and the mass uprising, Bengali culture, or the cultures of small ethnic communities or that offend religious sentiments.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n GCDG report blames Yunus for systematic assault on national history, institutions<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n How Yunus is distorting history and undermining democratic process<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n July Declaration: Yunus glorifies anti-Bangladesh elements, distorts history<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n This vague, draconian clause is tailor-made to censor dissent, stifle creativity, and enforce Islamist sensitivities\u2014mirroring the regime’s broader capitulation to hardliners, from scrapping music and physical education teachers in primary schools to tolerating extremist pressures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The draft’s cowardice on coaching centres, private tuition, notes, and guidebooks is staggering: it promises mere “gradual discouragement” and regulations to ban them only after 3-5 more years, allowing the parasitic industry to thrive and exploit students longer. Existing bans (from 1980 and 2012 policies) are ignored or diluted, ensuring business as usual for profiteers while students suffer rote learning and inequality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This rushed farce delegates almost everything to future rules, regulations, or executive orders\u2014handing unchecked power to the regime’s cronies. Pre-primary must be included in primary institutions; a non-discriminatory curriculum is promised (yet confined to Class V), the national curriculum is mandatory across streams (general, madrasah, technical), and specialised syllabi for special needs\u2014but no bold vision, no roadmap for modernisation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Corporal punishment and mental harassment are banned (vaguely, with unclear penalties), private institutions need government approval, and foreign-curriculum schools face the same controls\u2014yet the overall structure is stagnant, outdated, and Islamist-leaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Educationists like Rasheda K. Chowdhury rightly slam this unacceptable haste: a law affecting every student, teacher, and the entire system deserves meticulous scrutiny, not a six-day sham consultation. There’s no clear future direction\u2014just authoritarian control disguised as reform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rise of Extremism: Yunus defends dropping music, PE teachers in primary schools<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Shibir\u2019s Moral Policing At DU: Sarba Mitra Chakma punishes teenagers<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n