Twenty-six assistant English teachers at madrasas across the country have been ordered to explain why they failed to attend a residential English language training course for which they had been nominated.
The Madrasa Education Directorate issued the letter on Thursday, September 3, signed by Md. Rubel Hossain, deputy director of the Directorate’s Training and Physical Education section. The teachers are required to submit a clear written explanation as to why they should not face disciplinary action and appear before him in person at 11:00 a.m. on September 8.
What they missed
The Bangladesh Madrasa Teacher Training Institute began its 222nd residential subject-based training for Dakhil-level English teachers on August 30. The list of selected participants had been published in a notice from the administration on August 19, eleven days prior.
The 26 did not turn up.
Two orders, not one
The administration argues that this violates two separate directives.
The first is the nomination itself. Being appointed to a training course is an order, not an invitation, and the letter considers the absence as insubordination.
The second is more general. On July 6, the administration posted a specific notice regarding mandatory attendance at the designated training, suggesting that absenteeism was already a recognized problem before the course began.
Underlying both is the regulation that validates this action. The administration asserts that the absence constitutes a violation of Rule 18(c) of the 2026 Non-Governmental Educational Institutions (Madrasas) Staffing Structure and MPO Policy, which governs government salary support for teachers in private madrasas.
The backdrop, and what it does not prove
The timing is hard to ignore.
English was the subject where the failures occurred this year. Passing rates fell below 80% in most of the general examining boards, and English was the subject that generated the most appeals. The madrasa board recorded the lowest pass rate of the eleven boards, at 55.49%, and in 226 madrasas, no candidate passed.
Therefore, a course to strengthen English teaching at the Dakhil level is not a routine administrative procedure this year. It directly impacts the weakest subject in the sector.
That said, there is no connection between these 26 teachers and these results. Their institutions have not been mentioned in any connection, and no source suggests a link. What this sequence shows is the pressure the administration is under, not the cause of anything.
Where this stands
Nothing has been established. The notification requests an explanation; it does not constitute an accusation of misconduct, and the teachers have until September 8 to respond. Some may have reasons that the administration will accept.
Rising Barta has not published the names, although the administration’s list is attached to its letter and is circulating in the press. The teachers have not yet had the opportunity to express their opinions.
For teachers who were nominated
- Check whether your name is on the directorate’s list rather than relying on any news summary. Three different figures for the number involved were in circulation on the first day
- If you are on it, the appearance is in person at 11am on 8 September, and the written explanation is required as well as the attendance
- Keep any documentation of why you could not attend — institutional duties, medical grounds, or a notice that reached you late
- If you were nominated for a future course, treat the nomination as binding. The 6 July notice makes that explicit
Rising Barta will report the directorate’s decision on these explanations when it is announced.
