POBNEWS24, Dhaka Mar 16, 2026 : According to the court’s instructions, there is no scope for a party person to be appointed as the president of the school management committee, said Rasheda K Chowdhury, executive director of the Mass Literacy Campaign and former advisor to the caretaker government. She has announced that she will go to court again if this is violated.
Rasheda K Chowdhury said these things at a dialogue titled ‘The education sector of the future in the light of the election manifesto: new thinking, new structure and new steps’ organized by the Citizen Platform on Monday at a hotel in Gulshan, the capital. At that time, State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj was on stage. Later, he responded to this issue. During the State Minister’s speech, Honorary Fellow of the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Debapriya Bhattacharya again raised questions on the issue.
Rasheda K Chowdhury said, ‘It has been said that education is a political agenda. Of course, it is a political agenda, but it should not be a party agenda. There is no party agenda. It is being said in various places that the qualifications of the school managing committee president will be reduced. We get scared when we see a cloud in the sky. That is why I am saying that political nominations should not be given there. I would like to remind you that the Appellate Division has upheld a ruling of a High Court writ in 2017. The court said that no one from any party can be made the president of any school managing committee. If you (aiming at the State Minister) give it, I will go to the court again and file a writ. Education cannot be allowed to be politicized.’
He also said, ‘There is a lot of talk about the constitution, but education has not yet been recognized as a civil right in the constitution. It is recognized as a responsibility of the state by the constitution.’
Later, State Minister Bobby Hajjaj spoke on various issues related to the education sector. At one stage, he mentioned Rasheda K Chowdhury and said, ‘Wherever you go, from Dhaka city to villages and neighborhoods, you will see that the elders of that area are connected to some political party or the other. Then no one will be able to find a mentor.’
After the state minister’s statement, the president of the event and honorary fellow of the private research organization Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Debapriya Bhattacharya, said, ‘It is not a connected issue. We have to see if he is in a party position. If he is, there will be questions here.’
Bobby Hajjaj said, various news has come in the media. But they are not yet real. We are working on formulating a policy here. After Eid, we will sit with the stakeholders. Then a decision will be made.
